"We can recreate many different aspects of a storm:" Contact 6 goes inside lab that simulates Mother Nature

NORTHBROOK, Illinois — It's no secret the type of damage severe weather can cause to a home or building, but there's a place trying to stop that damage -- or at least reduce it. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is simulating severe storms for your safety.

Inside a 63,000 square foot laboratory in the suburbs of Chicago, engineers recreate Mother Nature. 

"We can recreate many different aspects of a storm," explained John Drengenberg, consumer safety director at UL.

Drengenberg helps out with testing all kinds of products. Those tests include building envelopes, which are things like doors, windows, louvers and walls. UL is testing to make sure those items can weather a severe storm.

"For a tornado, we want to keep occupants safe," Drengenberg said.

UL engineers have spent countless hours studying storms and other types of severe weather to come up with a series of tests that see how different building materials can handle the elements.

One of those tests is the impact test. The impact test mimics flying debris from a tornado. During the test, a large wooden board is loaded into a giant pressurized air canon and shot into the building material. This is repeated several times in different spots on the item. In order to the pass the test, the board can't go through the test material.

Another test inside the lab is the dynamic water test.

"It's a wind-driven rain -- so it's pretty realistic, I think. With the dynamic test, all bets are off. You have to design a product that can withstand rain from coming through it," explained Wayne Breighner, the engineering manager of the Building Enclosure Department at UL.

The test uses a giant fan and gallons of water to see how much water and wind speed it can handle. During the dynamic water test, wind-speed can reach up to 120 miles-per-hour. It's all to make sure that if you're inside, whatever is outside doesn't make it in. 

While UL can't predict everything Mother Nature will do, they're using all their knowledge to try and protect you.

"This is something that will help keep people safe, which is the mission of UL," Drengenberg said.

UL's building envelope tests aren't just limited to their laboratories. After a product is tested at UL, engineers can also see how the items perform after being installed. After a building is constructed, engineers can take their equipment on the road and test the same materials in their real environment.