Tornado scientists love twisters and twisters. Here’s why.

The meteorology community has a love-hate relationship with: curve, A 1996 blockbuster about a scientist chasing tornadoes. The film plays a bit fast and loose with some aspects of science, and is definitely more action-packed than your typical tornado chase. But it’s definitely fun, dramatic, and fascinating. And it’s still beloved by many meteorologists and weather enthusiasts (including the author of this article).

As anticipation for the release of a standalone sequel grows, TwisterScientific American We reached out to tornado experts Rick Smith and Jana Hauser to talk about why so many in the weather community loved the original film, their thoughts on the new sequel, and the pros and cons of tornado research. Smith is a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma. Twister And he has a minor role in the film. And Houser is a meteorologist at Ohio State University who provided forecasts and other assistance to the new film’s cinematographer as he chased storms and filmed actual storm backgrounds and clouds.. [The following conversation includes some spoilers for the new film.]

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

About supporting science journalism

If you enjoyed this article, please support our award-winning journalism. Subscriptions. By purchasing a subscription, you help ensure a future of influential stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world today.

I grew up taking tornado drills in school, and I have vivid memories of my parents waking us up at night and taking us down to the basement. When I was a teenager and visited my grandmother in the summer, we curve. I remember thinking from the title sequence, “I want to know everything about this. It’s really cool.” (And I felt the same way when I rewatched the movie recently.) I really empathized with the character of Jo Harding, played by Helen Hunt. It made me interested in weather and earth science.

Smith: Like many people in this business, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the weather, especially tornadoes. At the same time, I’ve also had an irrational fear of thunderstorms, especially at night. I grew up in the southeastern part of Memphis, Tennessee, and that fear probably lasted until my early teens. But at the same time, I was obsessed with tornadoes. I would go to the library and check out every book I could, and I would write to the NWS and ask them to send me pamphlets and brochures and stuff. I would be a real nuisance. But at some point, it became more positive, or it stopped being scary. I actually volunteered at the NWS office in Memphis. Then I became a student worker. Then I became a full-time employee.

I will never forget when I was working at the NWS in Memphis. curve It came out. And I remember thinking that was the biggest deal in the world. And the fact that they were screening it felt so special. [the] Wednesday night before the release on Friday [May 10, 1996]. I thought, “Well, I’ve hit the jackpot.” I went with the office guys, and it was as expected. There was giggling and groaning and mumbling. They were just there to analyze it. I wasn’t. I’ve been a fan ever since, and I’ll happily admit that I’ll stop and watch some every time I flip through the channels… and I still do today. And whatever the new movie is, whatever we think about it, curve It will always be a special place for me.

Hauser: We joke in this business that we’re basically genetically engineered to have this predisposition and love of storms. I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, so we didn’t have a lot of tornadoes. I never experienced a tornado growing up. My interest started in the second grade, I think. I remember playing with my cousin and my dad having a thermometer and a rain gauge. My cousin would pretend to be the cameraman, and I’d pretend to be the little weatherman in front of the camera, and we’d look up at the sky and say, “Oh, the clouds are like this. It’s going to be a little sunny.”

Moving on, in April of 1991, there was a really big tornado that really hit me. I was in third grade at the time, and I remember being fascinated by it. And I was scared of thunderstorms as a kid… And like Rick, I went to the library and read everything I could find. And that passion continued. I always wanted to study meteorology.

when curve When I came out, I was a teenager, and I really remember thinking, “Okay, this is what I want to do with my life.”

Do you think it’s cool to see old and new movies and see weathermen expressing themselves and celebrating themselves? Both movies feel like love letters to people who are obsessed with tornadoes.

SMITH: You have to turn off your scientific brain to enjoy the movie, but I think the new movies are more relevant and in many ways more realistic.

I forgot to mention it’s Friday. curve I was extremely disappointed when I left because I was leaving at 6am the next morning and it was my first vacation.

HOUSER: Well, when I first experienced a chase, eight It was a tornado, and I’ve never seen a tornado before, eight times now. So my first experience set the bar too high, and it just didn’t meet it.

I haven’t really covered much about the implications. curve In my personal life as a teenager, though, it was a really motivating movie for me. And I still love it. As Rick mentioned, I still like to just throw it out there. And there are some minor quirks and some mistakes there, but it’s a very exciting and really passionate experience. And then, TwisterIt’s nice to see the chase culture depicted on the big screen in a relatively realistic way. Now, we’re not trying to outdo each other in tornadoes, and there’s no science vs. YouTuber aspect, at least not in the context depicted in the film. But it’s cool to see the jargon. And I totally appreciate that Rick and the other science advisers in this film talk about storm interactions and cold pools, and do so using the terminology they use in the field.

I find it difficult. I know something about earth science and I feel like I’m going to explode when I go to see a movie about it and try not to spoil it for other people. I was worried about the “I’m going to try to tame a tornado” aspect. Twister. But I can see where they’re going with the idea of ​​getting rid of tornadoes. I can stop doubting myself.

HOUSER: Yeah, and I definitely understand why they did it for the storyline. And it fits the storyline. My biggest complaint is, ~is People who are really stupid enough to try this. Every year or several times a year, people contact me and say, “Hey, has anyone tried blah, blah, blah?” or “I have a really good idea about blah, blah, blah.” And I say, “No, you have no idea.”

Smith: You ~is We’re taking every call we get from you! Okay.

I wondered if some members of Congress thought this was something we could actually do. Maybe pressure the NWS to remove tornadoes. Likewise, would people who are interested in storm chasing but don’t have a background in it say, “I’m going to go shoot fireworks in a tornado?”

Smith: That would be true.

Hauser: That’s definitely going to happen.

Smith: I’m sure it’ll happen this year.

But, yes, the science behind the confusion is [of a tornado]—Kevin Kelleher, former deputy director of the National Severe Storms Research Institute [at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]He was a full-time tornado consultant on the film. He was there from the very beginning of the script, doing everything he could, and they were very accommodating. And the science behind it all is there, but the practicality of it is not there. It would take 20,000 tons of material. [they use to absorb moisture in the movie] And somehow you can get it into the right part of the storm fast enough. And how do you pick a storm? And when the storm breaks up, what happens when there’s a downdraft coming out of the storm is probably worse than if you just left it alone and the tornado happened. There’s so many problems with that, but I accept it because it was a dramatic moment and a great ending to the movie. I hope no one actually thinks they can do that.

I love that in this film, the main character Kate goes on a much more emotional journey.

smith: [The two films] Both have a dramatic event that starts the movie and the main character starts the journey. But the way Joe reacted to it was obsessed and wanted to get into the tornado and see it. Kate just quit and worked for the NWS for five years. I focus on PTSD. [post-traumatic stress disorder]. We’ve presented at conferences and such, and were delighted to see this issue brought up in the film. [that in Daisy Edgar-Jones’s performance as Kate]As she returned to Oklahoma [Anthony Ramos’s character] Harvey is driving her in the truck. They’re driving under the bridge, and the way she’s looking at the overpass while they’re driving under the overpass—I don’t know, you can feel what she’s probably feeling. So the dramatic event—both movies have that, but the effect it has on the protagonist is different.

Do either of you have anything else to say?

Hauser: I was really excited to be involved in any part of the production, and it was a really great opportunity to experience the chase and go out in a different way than I often do. I’m a professor, so I do a lot of research or take students out for experiential learning, so on this film I was able to really focus on the visual aesthetic.

Smith: I was honored to be a part of it, even if it was just a small part. Before we started filming, we met with the cast and gave them a little spotter training class and talked about tornado culture. And I thought they responded really well. And we were on set at the NWS office doing a scene where they say, “Don’t blink, you’ll miss it.” Before we even started filming, we set the stage for them, “Welcome to Oklahoma. You’re making a movie about tornadoes, but you’re going to live with people who actually live through tornadoes, and they’re always going to live through traumatic events.” I thought it was really great to be a part of it. And I hope they do a sequel, and it doesn’t take 28 years.