It’s tornado season in much of the United States, which means Reed Timmer is out in his Dominators to chase, intercept, and learn everything he can about twisters. But despite how much Timmer has built the Dominator line for tornado safety, even the most advanced of them all — the Ford F-350-based SRV Dominator 3 — isn’t immune to the incredible winds of a direct tornado hit. Take a watch for yourself, from the passenger seat, as 200 mile per hour winds spin the Dominator 3 around in a full circle.
Dominator 3 weighs 10,000 pounds, and can lower its air suspension to reduce airflow under the body, and this tornado was still able to spin the truck with wind alone. As anyone who’s lived through a major tornado can tell you, these storms are no joke — attempting to intercept one with a lesser vehicle than the Dominator is a fool’s errand.
Dominator 3 is built for this
I may have dreams of strapping camera gear to a Honda CRF300L and riding headlong into tornado alley, but that dream is just to get within telephoto lens distance of a twister for photography — I wouldn’t go riding a bike straight into the storm, the way Timmer can with the Dominator. For that kind of experience, you really need something purpose-built. Or, at least, for someone who owns a real purpose-built storm chasing truck to put a camera in theirs and let you watch the video.
Unless you’ve got an F-350 and a lifetime supply of Line-X of your own, videos like this are probably the closest you’ll get to a full storm chasing experience. That, or watching “Twisters” in 4DX with the seats that shake and spray water at you. I may not be able to recommend driving into a tornado, but “Twisters” I can’t recommend highly enough.
