Weather nut fantasy - driving into the center of a tornado

While we're on the subject of weather, I really like the Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV) designed to drive into the center of a tornado. It's equipped with a rotating turret and an IMAX film camera. Sounds like fun, aye? A F-5 tornado would most certainly trash this thing like a tin can but maybe it could survive an F-2 or weaker tornado. Personally, I think it needs a more stout ground stabilzation system, the hydraulic claws don't look like they'd cut it. If I had designed the vehicle, I'd have made it off-road capable with a superior anchoring system. Perhaps a system that would actually be able to drill or penetrate the ground in a wide stance (a la Larry Craig). If we contracted the military to produce such a research vehicle, we'd really have something. Maybe something built around the design of an Abrams tank.

Watch these guys in their pursuits on the Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers show.

A similar weather nut project I've often dreamed of was to film a hurricane storm surge. An ideal place to do that would be the Cape Florida lighthouse. A 150 year old lighthouse on Key Biscayne that has survived dozens of hurricanes, including a direct hit by Hurricane Andrew.

Someone should write a grant to do this!