Between Twister<\/i> and Twisters<\/i>, Tornado Science Has Improved a Lot in Three Decades<\/p>\n Three decades of tornado science research is now at play in the new summer flick Twisters<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n By Max Springer<\/a><\/p>\n Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton as their characters Jo and Bill Harding in the 1996 movie Twister<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Universal Pictures\/Maximum Film\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDorothy\u201d was deliberately fed to an Oklahoma F5 tornado about 30 years ago in the classic disaster movie Twister<\/i>. The film followed storm-chasing scientists<\/a> trying to use that special apparatus (a meteorological device containing hundreds of sensors and named after the tornado-jockey ingenue in The Wizard of Oz<\/i>) to understand the inner workings of one of nature\u2019s most fearsome phenomena. Now its just released stand-alone sequel, Twisters,<\/i> follows another band of storm chasers<\/a> who want to actually disrupt and dissipate these monster phenomena with today\u2019s technology and knowledge.<\/p>\n Contrasting the two films shows how much tornado science<\/a> has changed since the original flick, which featured radar and computer technologies that are now outdated. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way since [Twister<\/i>],\u201d says Elizabeth Smith, a research meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administration\u2019s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). And much of this progress has come through what she calls \u201cthe sum total of incremental change,\u201d not singular projects like those depicted in the original movie. Some advances since then have in the decades transformed fiction into reality, enabling the latest film to explore even greater possibilities in managing and responding to dangerous weather events.<\/p>\n In the 1996 original, Helen Hunt’s character, Jo Harding, wanted to increase the warning times for tornadoes from three to 15 minutes by getting data from inside a funnel cloud to better understand how they work. And over the decades since, this science-fiction dream has turned into reality. \u201cNow, when we issue a warning, the average lead time is 15 minutes,\u201d says Harold Brooks, a senior research scientist at the NSSL. Though this may seem like a minor increase in the grand scheme of things, it offers considerably more time for people to reach shelter.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing<\/a>. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/static.scientificamerican.com\/dam\/m\/5e676f7af25fa2c9\/original\/2JH12A8_web.jpg?w=600\")
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