Disclaimer: This movie contains spoilers for the 1996 movie Twister. Continue at your own risk.
What Is Twister?
Twister is a 1996 disaster/thriller/action movie that was directed by Jan de Bont (known for also directing Speed), and written by Toronto’s Ann-Marie Martin, and her husband Michael Crighton, who is known for writing the original Jurassic Park novel. It’s about a group of storm chasers, who track tornadoes in Oklahoma.
In the movie, Jo (Helen Hunt), who was a child when she saw her father killed by a powerful twister, is the leader of the team of storm chasers that the film is about. She is finalizing her divorce with Bill (Bill Paxton) who used to be a member of the team and has moved on to a new career as a weather forecaster, and a new fiancé, Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz). The team is genuinely trying to study tornadoes and come up with better warning systems. They compete with another team of storm chasers led by Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) who are not interested in the science, and only in it for money. Throughout the movie, Jo and Bill, through their love of tornado science, and the thrill and danger involved in storm chasing, get closer together, re-igniting their spark. Many bear-misses involving twisters are in the plot. Other notable cast members include Lois Smith, who plays Jo’s aunt Meg, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays Dusty, another prominent member of Jo and Bill’s storm-chasing team.
The Opening Scene
The story begins with a flashback to 1969 when Jo’s father is killed in an F5 tornado. There were no F5 tornadoes in 1969, so this is not based on any particular tornado. However, Oklahoma is a good location to set the film in, being tied with Alabama for the most F5 tornadoes of any state. Also, the meteorologist on screen declaring the twister an F5 is Gary England. Despite England being a very prominent figure in tornado forecasting, he didn’t start his on-air career until the 70’s. As Jo’s family gets to safety in their storm cellar, her father tries in vain to keep the storm cellar door closed, but the F5 easily destroys it (which it would be capable of doing) and picks him up. It is unknown how far an F5 would throw him, but it would certainly be able to pick him up. Although it would not have picked up Jo, her mother, or her dog, it likely would have thrown debris at them and would have put their safety and lives at risk.
Modern Day
The film then flashes forward to “present day”, which is likely to be interpreted as 1996, as that is when the movie was released. It shows a scene at the National Severe Storm Laboratory, which is responsible for tracking tornadoes, existed in 1996, and like the film, is located in Oklahoma. Fast forwarding slightly, it shows Bill being able to track tornadoes by grabbing dirt and watching how the wind carries it, an impossible task. It also introduced a major plot point: a technology called “Dorothy” which can be picked up by a twister to help study it. Many have attempted similar technology, and nothing similar exists in 2025, although it might be theoretically possible. We then reach our first tornado.
The Ditch Tornado
The first tornado in the movie was an F1, which is seen destroying a barn and throwing around vehicles, including Jo’s jeep. It is generally accepted that a tornado would need to be at least an F2 to move a car, so although Jo’s jeep would be heavily damaged in the storm, it would not have been picked up and thrown so far as to be destroyed. However, since barns are generally not as strong as houses, one could be heavily damaged, with a stronger F1 likely capable of doing heavy damage to the barn.
The Sidewinder
As if purposefully made slightly stronger, the sidewinder was described as an F2 tornado, although it certainly took the appearance of a much more powerful storm. Bill is also able to tell from a distance that it would switch courses (leading to the name ‘sidewinder’). According to all the information that we have right now, it is impossible for anyone to be able to do so, and it is unlikely that anyone, no matter what their tornado knowledge, will ever be able to do so with their naked eye. The tornado is seen as being powerful enough to lift cows. Similar to how a tornado can move a shark, with wind speeds of a F2, but not lift and throw it, the same is true of cows, meaning that the tornado’s strength is greatly exaggerated. The movie then has the tornado move onto water and correctly calls the twister a waterspout. It also displays the rare formation of two tornadoes being near each other and correctly refers to them as “sisters”. It then shows both tornadoes disappearing simultaneously, which is unlikely, but possible. The scene also correctly depicts rain increasing near a tornado, which is a very common phenomenon.
Dinner Scene
There is then a scene where the characters sit down to dinner at Jo’s aunt’s place, and describe some of their terminology to Dr. Melissa Reeves, who does not have much knowledge of twisters. They correctly refer to the scale used to measure tornado strength as the Fujita Scale, the accepted scale when the movie was made. It is also stated that an F4 could “relocate your home”, which can be true, depending on how well-built the home is. F5s are treated with a certain level of reverence, with it being stated that Jo is the only member of the team to have seen an F5, which given how rare they are, is believable.
The “Jumper”
The Jumper is described as being an F3 tornado, meaning that it is very much stepping up in power. The tornado is seen throwing around small pieces of debris along an abandoned road, with objects like tricycles being thrown around like pebbles, which is an accurate depiction of an F3’s power. It also destroys nearby power lines, something else that is well within the capabilities of a storm that powerful. It’s even possible for a tornado to disappear and reappear like it did, although the movie likely goes too far in showing the entire storm system seeming to disappear, as it would have counted as two different tornadoes, and likely would have had two entirely different ratings. It is also unlikely for Bill and Jo to be able to predict where and when it will land, despite Bill’s accuracy in the movie (although this is consistent with Bill having many seemingly impossible insights). Bill does smartly get them out of the situation, despite Jo’s desperation to use Dorothy to measure it.
The Wakita Twister
Once again going up one step on the Fujita Scale, the Wakita tornado was an F4. It forced the team of storm chasers to take cover, and in one of the movie’s most iconic scenes, destroyed a drive-in movie screen that was showing The Shining. It then travels to Wakita, where Jo’s aunt lives, destroying several homes, including that of Jo’s aunt, who is also injured. Although not destroyed, the house was unrecognizable and ended up collapsing soon after Bill and Jo rescued Jo’s aunt and her dog. Destroying houses, as foreshadowed earlier in the movie, is certainly something an F4 is capable of.
The F5
The F5 was formed when the system that created the F4 merged with another system, which is possible. The F5 was seen as absolutely devastating, tearing apart barns like they were made of paper, throwing around plenty of Debris that ended up killing Jonas and a member of his crew, tossing an entire house at one point, and more. All of this is easily stuff that an F5 can, and almost certainly will, do.
If anything, the damage that the F5 did was understated. Upon throwing an oil truck into the air, the truck nudges Bill and Jo’s vehicle off a log, freeing it and allowing the two to flee. However, this would have almost certainly destroyed both vehicles immediately. The house which was thrown almost certainly would have been destroyed completely. The barn that Jo and Bill were in near the end of the movie should have been destroyed, and the pipes almost certainly would have broken, as would the straps the characters used to stay in place. This would have almost certainly killed both characters.
The mile-wide base was also realistic, as there have been F5 tornadoes that were over twice as wide.
Other Facts About Twister
Jo’s Maiden name is Thornton, meaning her birth name would have been Jo Thornton, which would have been pronounced the same as NHL Star Joe Thornton.
The idea of an outbreak of tornadoes like that in the movie is realistic, although very rare.
The first tornado is an F1, the second and F2, etc. for all 5 tornadoes in the film, with the final one being an F5.
There is an urban legend about a tornado in Thorold, Ontario destroying a drive-in theatre that was showing the movie Twister. However, this is believed to be false.
The movie shows Bill’s new fiancée, Dr. Melissa Reeves, driving while talking on her mobile phone without consequences. This was because this movie was made before the laws making this action illegal were widespread.
Bill and Jo are two people in the middle of a divorce, and Dr. Melissa Reeves is Bill’s fiancée. They are all civil to each other throughout the movie. This is the most scientifically impossible act seen in the film.