sean casey rides inside, get this, a custom made truck built to take the worst including this tornado yesterday evening. take a look at this. [ sirens ] >> sean casey captured that video yesterday and we'll be showing more of it as we talk to him. sean's been right in the middle of tornadoes eight times, but says this was the most intense, the winds were so strong the door of the vehicle blew open and instruments were ripped off the top. we spoke about it and the twister tonight by phone just a little while ago. sean, i understand you're chasing a tornado right now. what's going on? >> yeah. this is my first interview while looking at a tornado. yeah, we are just north of salina. there is a large tornado that's pretty much stationary, just kind of west of 81. >> how big is it? >> you know, i don't know how strong it is, but it looks like on the ground it might be a quarter mile wide. >> and how close is it to where you are in that tank-like vehicle you have? >> we are roughly three miles. it's wrapped in rain and we -- it's revealing itself right now, still in the same spot. we're in

. >> sean casey got a lot more than what he bargained for.ornado inside a tank that is actually made to go inside of it. check out this video. >> filmmaker and storm chase, sean casey, joins us from 15 line na, kansas, on skype. shawn, great to see you. glad you're okay. >> yeah. >> the imax movie "tornado alley" you got in the middle of eight tornados in your life. this was different than any of the others. tell us why. >> well, this was a violent tornado. when we made "tornado alley" we encountered a weak ef-3 tornado. this was a stronger ef-4 tornado, picking up a lot of debris. our vehicle, even though, you know, we had got into intercept mode and got as low as we could, we were being just blasted by all of this debris from sheet metal to, you know, those large hail -- those hay bales, we were being slammed by everything. and this was the first time that, you know, usually i'm up in the tourette, we have a tourette with an imax camera. the first time i abandoned my post, it was lying flat down on the ground trying to get way from the wind

storm chasers brandon ivey and sean casey deliberately drove into this tornado. >> i wasn't standingmanning my camera. i just left it running, and i was pancaked on the ground. >> reporter: using casey's tank-like vehicle called the tiv. this isn't their first time inside a tornado. they film with an imax camera, and the tank they ride in is made for this. see the spikes on the sides? they use them to dig in. the vehicle can then be lowered, so when wind goes up and over, like the opposite of an airplane wing, it forces it to stay down. tornados are one of nature's great mysteries. and with video like this, we can get valuable information about how they form, how they grow, and that can be used to help warn the public and also teach how to build structures to withstand them. >> that exotic cross-section of violence and beauty. i wanted to capture that up close and personal. >> ginger, what else are you seeing out there right now as we're watching all this? >> tonight the threat is still very evident for a lot of folks. i want to show you exactly who has to be concerned. stretching fr

storm chaser sean casey reported as he followed one of the twisters. >> sean, i understand you're chasing a tornado right now. what's going on? >> this is my first interview while looking at a tornado. we were hoping it's going to come up onto our road and we will drag right up to the center. >> casey's team captured this rare and frightening video inside a tornado in smith county, kansas, on monday. the potential for supercell thunderstorms, damaging winds, and hail threaten a number of states from texas to new england today. in the plains, strong damaging tornadoes are possible. in areas littered with damage, meteorologists warn of high wind gusts kicking up and carrying dangerous debris across the area. on the west coast, dry conditions fueling wildfires in santa barbara, california, scorching over 1,800 acres in los padres national forest. in valencia, helicopters attacked the blaze from above as brush fires near magic mountain burned 25 acres in less than an hour. the northeast contends with a much different picture, from snow this weekend to what could be a record breaking heat wave

storm chasers brandon ivy and sean casey deliberately drove into the tornado. >> i wasn't standing uprret manning my camera, you know, i just left it running i was pancaked on the ground. >> reporter: using casey's tank-like vehicle called the tiv. this isn't the first time inside a tornado. they film with an imax camera and the tank that they ride in is made for this. see the spikes on the side. they use them to dig in. the vehicle can then be lowered. so when wind goes up and over like the opposite of an airplane wing it forces it to stay down. tornados are one of nature's great mysteries. and with video like this -- we can get valuable information about how they form, how they grow, and that can be used to help warn the public. and also teach how to build structures to withstand them. >> that kind of exotic cross section of -- of, you know, violence, and beauty. i wanted to capture that up close and personal. ginger zee, abc news, new york. >> millions could be in harm's way as severe weather threatens the middle of the country and northeast. >> we'll get an update from accuweather

that number of dead from 51 confirmed by the state medical examiner's office is going to climb. >> sean: casey, we're going to get back to you throughout the night. our thoughts and prayers with the people and families that have lost loved ones. confirmed at least 51 people have been killed by this monstrous tornado near oklahoma city. death toll sadly expected to rise. we'll have much more coming up right here on the fox news channel. she knows you like no one else. and you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink

in the middle of it all storm chaser sean casey reported live on cnn there. >> sean, i understand you're chasing a tornado right now. what's going on? >> see this is my first interview while looking at a tornado. so, we were hoping it's going to come up onto our road and we will drive right up to the southern half. >> reporter: just one day before casey's team captured this rare and frightening video inside a tornado in smith county, kansas. the potential for supercell thunderstorms, damaging winds, and hail threaten a number of states from texas to new england today. in the plains, strong, damaging tornadoes are possible. in areas like oklahoma, already littered with damage, meteorologists warn of high wind gusts kicking up and carrying dangerous debris across the area. meanwhile further north, severe storms blew in to michigan and pennsylvania overnight. damage was reported outside detroit and near erie, pennsylvania. and on the west coast, a different kind of weather danger. dry conditions fueling wildfires in santa barbara, california. scorching over 1800 acres in los padres national

pictures were taken yesterday in smith county, kansas by renowned storm chasers brandon ivey and sean caseyalley." they drove their vehicle right into the twister. this is what the specially designed vehicle looks like. >> looks like the batmobile. >> we're told the instruments on the roof were ripped off by yesterday's twister, a door and a hatch were torn open but everyone made it out safe and sound. i climbed around in that last year when they came by with it. i still wouldn't drive into a twister but it's a cool thing. >> especially designed for tornadoes and it still suffered some pretty heavy damage. >> all right ahead on "early start," a senator sneaking into a war zone. john mccain's secret mission into syria, next. >> plus the rutgers athletic director accused of abuse speaking out this morning. hear what she had to say and why the school says she's going to keep her job. hey, look! a shooting star! make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we st

> reporter: listen as the pressure drops and the tornado engulfs storm chasers brandon ivey and sean casey. they hold on and ride out the unbelievable storm. their fully equipped, eight-ton steel tornado intercept vehicle often known as the tiv, is made for this. >> what we experienced in the vehicle is pretty much the maximum winds we could withstand. if that tornado would have been any stronger wind could have gotten under the vehicle and really allowed that vehicle to become airborne. >> reporter: the pair clocked the amazing 175-mile-per-hour winds. ept eventually, the tornado wipes out their anemometer tracking that wind speed. >> even though we've been chasing for a number of years and have plenty of experience doing it, and getting close to the tornadoes, there's always a little bit of fear in the back of your mind. >> reporter: now, i've known these guys for years. the storm chasing community has to be trained. and you have to be experienced. they are and that armored vehicle specifically made for that. so please, beyond don't try this at home. don't try this at all. and still, thi

. >> storm chaser sean casey reported as he follows on the twisters. >> sean, i understand you are chasing on. this my first interview while looking at a tornado. we were hoping it would come up on to our road and we will drive to the southern have. >> casey captured this rare and frightening video inside a tornado in kansas on monday. >> the potential for super sell thunderstorm and damaging winds threatened and more states from texas to new england. in the plane's strong damaging weather is possible. >> areas littered with damages a meteorologist worries about high winds gusting up and caring debris across the area. >> on the west coast dry conditions fuelling wildfires in santa barbara, calif. scorching over 18 undertakers in los padres national forest. >> in valencia helicopters attacked a blaze brushfires near magic mountain burned 25 a. in less than an hour. >> the north he's content with a much different picture from snow this week end to what could be a record-breaking heat wave. >> temperatures rising double-digit across most of the region. >> with the threat of extreme weather co

it was captured by two guys, sean casey and brandon ivy. they have a special vehicle that actually went over and actually hunkers down. it weighs 16,000 tons. they were able to survive this. don't try this at home, by any stretch. but here's the latest on this storm. there's going to be another outbreak today. as you can see, heavy thunderstorms now racing across the midwest. there is a wide area for severe weather today. look at this. from texas all the way to kansas city, chicago, as far east as pittsburgh. possibility of tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, and tomorrow we've got another strong risk. in fact, probably stronger tomorrow than today from del rio, texas, all the way up to minneapolis. unfortunately, oklahoma city in the midst of that. you can see heavy rain is going to be developing along this system from the west all the way into western pennsylvania, central new york on into the east coast. and then as we move to the west, wildfires in santa barbara, california. check this out. we have wildfires over a thousand acres. 4,000 pe