A Frisco company is working on a new storm shelter that may be in full production by this year's severe weather season.
The Tornado Pod is designed to safely shield a family of six from a devastating EF5 tornado. It’s buried in the ground to the lid.
"It's designed so that if there is debris on the outside of it, you can pull the pins, the release pins from the inside, release the latch and remove the hatch yourself," said Wes Kouba, CEO and President of TornadoPod. "You can push it one way or the other and dig your way out of it."
The prototype, which opens like a clam shell, must pass a critical missile impact test, surviving three shots from a powerful cannon firing 15 foot long 2x4s at 100 miles an hour.
The test conducted last week at Intertek in Plano simulates the force from tornado debris tossed at 250 mph.
The Tornado Pod successfully passed a second series of tests on Wednesday.
"It would protect you in a storm, it would absolutely protect you in a storm," said Kouba. "When you think about that. It didn't go through the shield, and that's what we wanted to do."
The Tornado Pod will sell for about $6,000 installed.
More: TornadoPod.com
