"Instead, I depend on TracVision to keep me connected to The Weather Channel and its tornado coverage. TracVision has become invaluable to discovering where the tornados are."
Samaras, the senior research engineer at Applied Research Associates, and his colleagues recently achieved a breakthrough in the science of tornado study with the development and successful deployment of sensor probes designed to study a tornado as it passes overhead.
However, even with this technology, tornado chasers can be surprised by a tornado and find themselves in harm's way.
"During the intercept of the Happy, Texas, tornado on the night of Sunday, May 5, 2002, the tornado turned unexpectedly, and we were subjected to winds exceeding 120 miles per hour," Samaras said. "Power poles and irrigation pipes were flying around. Three of the windows in the vehicle imploded, and the vehicle began to fill with debris. Even through all of that, the TracVision mounted on the roof survived perfectly and remained fully operational."
For more information about the TracVision line of satellite TV antennas, visit www.kvh .com.
