Twister turns 30!
The Dark Side of Nature.
This action-packed blockbuster had its theatrical release on May 10, 1996.
This is an image of a poster for the 1996 film Twister. Copyright Warner Bros.
Twister grossed over $499 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1996, selling an estimated 54.7 million tickets in the United States. It is also notable for being among the first films to be released on DVD in the United States. On May 10, 2010, the 14th anniversary of the film's U.S. release, a tornado struck Fairfax, Oklahoma, destroying the farmhouse where numerous scenes in Twister were shot. J. Berry Harrison, the owner of the home and a former Oklahoma state senator, commented that the tornado appeared eerily similar to the fictitious one in the film. He had lived in the home since 1978. Following the film's release, the number of meteorological majors in the United States increased by about 10 percent in the late 1990s. The University of Oklahoma, which collaborated with production, in particular saw its meteorology program double from 225 enrolled to 450, and a grant from Universal Studios allowed development of a mobile radar. Universal also funded the NSSL meteorologists to go on a mobile tour in the eastern half of the country, staging safety presentations at science museums in a dozen major cities. Storm chasing increased even as a recreational activity, with tourism companies creating "chase tours". A Twister museum in Wakita, Oklahoma, where many of the particularly destructive scenes of the movie were shot, contains various memorabilia and artifacts related to the film.
Source: Wikipedia.org
“The Def Leppard show in mid-July was my first Rock concert, with Van Halen following nine days later. Both concerts were stellar. In addition to the planned pyrotechnics at the Van Halen show, nature provided its own fireworks in the form of cloud-to-cloud lighting from storms fifty or so miles away to our North and West. The lightning formed a memorable backdrop for the stage and perhaps was also foreshadowing the band’s future contribution to the Twister soundtrack, possibly even its eventual (second) stormy breakup.”
- Woodard, Anthony. “For Those About to Rock…”. Feb. 16, 2023
Twister’s soundtrack is an eclectic mix of Hard Rock, Alternative, Country, and Folk. The film’s director used both diegetic and non-diegetic music to create narratives and build suspense. Diegetic music is music that originates from within the story's world, meaning the characters within the scene can also hear it (see below; “Child In Time”). Non-diegetic music is a soundtrack or score added for the audience's benefit and cannot be heard by the characters.
Talk about the weather…
Twister is a great movie. Growing up in the Midwest, the film’s setting, with its dusty roads and diners, always feels familiar. Whether it’s green skies, tornado sirens, howling winds, flash floods, or even triple-digit heat (1980 Heat Wave), we all have memories and stories of our encounters with severe and hazardous weather.
Whoa! Please tell me you got that…
Jul. 8, 2021: Photo of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike as we traveled west on U.S. 60 just outside of Sikeston, Missouri. The tree that was struck went up in flames. Two days later, an EF-2 tornado touched down just a few miles from where this photo was taken.
Photo Credit: K. Woodard
“It’s the wonder of nature, baby!”
I have always been fascinated with severe weather, particularly tornadoes. When I was a young child, this fascination was mixed with a fair amount of fear. As I grew older, the fear mostly subsided and I imagined myself one day becoming a TV meteorologist or a storm chaser. While life had different plans for me, I later became a trained SKYWARN® spotter and completed college courses in meteorology and geology a couple of years before Twister premiered. Today, when the skies turn stormy, I still find myself “nerding out” on SPC Convective Outlooks, Mesoscale Discussions, and PDS tornado watches, as well hook echoes, rotational couplets, and tornado warnings.
Will you get inside already!
July 2024: View from my front porch during a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.
Photo/Video Credit: Anthony Woodard
A storm rolling in…
Apr. 13, 2026: Footage of a tornadic thunderstorm approaching from the WSW. At the time this was taken (8:04 PM), the EF-2 tornado was approximately 40 miles away. The storm had already damaged parts of Ottawa, Kansas and prompted a Tornado Warning for our location about 30 minutes later.
Photo/Video Credit: Anthony Woodard
Source: YouTube Austin Jones Storm Chasing
Disclaimer: This YouTube content embedded under fair use. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. All rights to the original content belong to their respective owners.
Light Up The Sky!
Apr. 13, 2026: It was a stormy evening… Photos of frequent cloud-to-cloud lightning taken from my front porch as another severe thunderstorm moved through.
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
Close to home…
Apr. 17, 2026: Radar images of an EF-1 tornado as it struck parts of neighboring Belton, Missouri at 5:19 PM. The storm’s debris signature came fairly close to us as it moved to the east. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported and the Red Cross was on the scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was affected by this storm and the storms on Monday.
Radar images (snapshots) courtesy of Anthony Woodard
Source: YouTube KMBC 9
Disclaimer: This YouTube content embedded under fair use. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act, allowance is made for 'fair use' for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. All rights to the original content belong to their respective owners.
Source: National Weather Service