Storm chasers react to new “Twisters” movie

OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — After years of waiting, a 90’s movie classic finally has a sequel. “Twisters” premiered in theatres last night and is sparking local storm chasers to reflect on how the art of storm chasing has changed over the years.

“I love the first one. I actually have the first one on DVD in my room right now,” says Zach Jennings, a storm chaser.

Jennings and one of his storm-chasing friends, Jordan Steitler hope to see the new “Twister” movie soon and say a lot has changed since they started storm-chasing in the early 2000s.

“I was watching some of the old videos from Wayne’s coverage back then. It is crazy to see how much our Doppler radar has improved from then to now,” Jennings says.

Jennings says technology has drastically changed the way weather enthusiasts chase storms. Now they have access to radars and the capability to go live. Jennings and Steitler live-streamed the Mount Vernon tornado, which they believe helped warn residents sooner.

“This is huge, I think for the warning process, because there is no better warning than when you are looking at it and you can tell what road it is on and what area it is in,” Jennings says.

Although the “Twisters” movie does have some truth to it, Jennings says some of it is made for Hollywood, but still highlights the importance of taking warnings seriously.

“I don’t think a whole lot of storm chasers are going to be sitting and dropping their gear and driving through a field in a regular truck,” Jennings says.

It is just a movie, but Jennings hopes it inspires more people who love to weather to take the leap into storm chasing.

“I think that it could drive people to want to chase,” Jennings says.

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