What the Twister movies get right and wrong about tornadoes

SPOKANE, Wash. -- After almost 30 years, the blockbuster disaster movie Twister is getting a sequel. Twister arrives in theaters this weekend. As with most major Hollywood projects, reality is blended in with movie magic to create a dramatic story on screen. Here's what's real and what's fantasy from both films.

"The Suck Zone"

From the very first scene in Twister (1996), we see a person be taken straight upward into the sky by a tornado like they were caught in a vacuum cleaner. Later, a character claims if you get too close to a tornado, you enter "The Suck Zone."

The truth is that tornadoes don't suck. In every thunderstorm, there's an area where warm air rises into the storm where it's moisture is converted to clouds, hail, and rain. Then cool air sinks back down with the precipitation. We call this the updraft and the downdraft. A tornado is essentially an extreme, spinning updraft. Winds are not only rotating but also rising. Tornadoes don't suck things up into the sky, they push them.

"They're predicting an F5"

This another line from the original movie that's pure fantasy, even in 2024. Tornado science has advanced a lot since 1996, but we're still not able to predict the strength or exact timing of tornadoes. What meteorologists are much better at is identifying conditions that could create storms that spawn tornadoes.

Tornadoes are rated by the amount of damage they cause. A storm survey crew from the National Weather Service will give a tornado an EF rating from 0 to 5 based on their survey. In 1996 the older F scale was still in use. Either way, you can't just tell a tornado is an EF-whatever by just looking at it, much less predict it.

Then there's the possibility of stopping a tornado. Anything involving weather control is pure science fiction, but it makes for a fun movie script.

Safety Third

Whether it's sheltering under an overpass or a barn full of saw blades and axes, the main characters in the Twister movies don't exactly practice good tornado safety.

Sheltering under an overpass is a common practice that's extremely dangerous. The underpass acts as a wind tunnel that makes it harder to keep you or your vehicle on the ground and doesn't leave room to potentially dodge flying debris from the tornado.

What they get right

All of the consulting from professionals does pay off however. The aftermath of tornado damage in both films is quite realistic. Unusual events like twin tornadoes are rare, but they do happen. The storm chasing equipment used in the new film isn't out of place with the research trucks and tricked-out storm chaser vehicles used in the real world. Click Here to read more and watch videos from NOAA about how they helped create the look and feel of Twisters.

As for whether an oil refinery will explode if it's hit by a tornado, the jury is out.

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