Nearly 30 years after the first “Twister” film was released, its sequel, “Twisters,” is here. Both movies provided audiences with a entertainment-friendly glance at storm chasing — but what does storm chasing look like off screen?
Warren Faidley can tell you. Not only is he a storm chaser, he’s also considered to be the first professional storm chasing photojournalist. He even took the photo used as the backdrop for the “Twister” poster.
“It was a miracle I actually got the photo,” Faidley told the Deseret News.
Faidley had stopped by the weather service in Amarillo, Texas, to say goodbye to friends before heading back home, when someone mentioned: “‘Well, you might wanna stick around because if something goes up today, it’s gonna be really big,’” Faidley recalled.
“Something went up and produced this beautiful tornado that gave me all kinds of great shots,” Faidley said. “Probably the best shot of the group ended up being the one that was used for the original ‘Twister.’”
Writers from Warner Brothers spent time with Faidley while “Twister” was still in its incubation stage and they considered making him the subject of the film. They ended up going a different route, but stuck with Faidley’s photo for the poster.
Faidley was invited to the Oklahoma City premiere of “Twister.” Creative liberties taken in the disaster blockbuster left Faidley “giggling.” A man from the weather channel seated next to him poked him in the side, telling him to quiet down in front of cast and crew.
“So I had to kind of control my attitude.”
According to Faidley, movies like “Twister” include a lot of “bogus.” Here’s what real-life storm chasers have to say about the realities of storm chasing.
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‘Twisters’ is a thrill ride of a film
How close can you really get to a tornado?
There’s a scene in “Twister” when Bill (Bill Paxton) and Jo (Helen Hunt) crouch beneath a wooden bridge as a tornado rips over them. It hoists a truck into the air, tears up fragments of the bridge — and they survive.
The rest of the movie has similar sequences, as does the sequel, “Twisters.”
But can you really get that close to a tornado?
According to real storm chasers, no. Well, at least you shouldn’t.
“You can’t really get that close. A lot of people do it and people die,” Faidley said. “If you have winds over 200 mph — even 300 mph — that material is moving really fast. You’re talking about wind that will knock over a locomotive and it will reduce a car to a scrap heap. ... You don’t want to get that close with all that debris flying around.”
Faidley explained that getting dangerously close to a tornado is sometimes treated “like a badge of honor,” but it’s never necessary. “People just want to get way too close. They want to get right into the debris, which is just idiotic.”
“We don’t get that close,” A.J. Towne, the president of Tea Storm Chasers, a nonprofit organization that chases storms and provides disaster relief, told the Deseret News. “You definitely can get about a half mile to a mile away from a storm and be in the safe zone.”
He continued, “The problem is once you get into that zone, you need to know your outs. Because just like in the movie ‘Twister,’ a tornado can shift and take a different route and then you’re gonna be in a dangerous situation.”
Social media has completely changed storm chasing
In “Twisters,” Glen Powell plays Tyler Owens, a co*cky storm chasing social media star. He puts his face on T-shirts, shoots fireworks up the funnel cloud of twisters and livestreams every second of his rowdy antics.
Tyler Owens is the type of character monopolizing storm chasing these days, Faidley explained.
“The social media thing is just out of control,” Faidley said.
Storm chasing social media stars competing for attention online pull “outrageous” stunts to keep up with each other.
“It’s gotten to that point now where it’s like, how can I possibly outdo the next person? What can I do? If I walk in a tornado and I lose, like an arm, is that gonna do it?” Faidley said. “It’s so extreme now that you have to do something absolutely insane, because we’ve seen it all.”
The social media chasers are the ones making the most money, but “it’s not all roses with a lot of the social media chasers,” Faidley said. “People who are are on social media, the big chasers, a lot of people do not like them because they encourage bad behavior.”
How real storm chasers feel about ‘Twister’
Both “Twister”’ and “Twisters” are loaded with intense tornado scenes that might leave audiences skeptical.
“There’s scenes in ‘Twister’ that are true and there’s scenes in ‘Twister’ that are really questionable,” Towne said.
The devastation caused by severe weather is a real part of the job but the dangers of getting in such close proximity to tornados are not accurately depicted, he explained.
“I think for storm chasers, including myself, it’s kind of weird when you see these movies because you kind of go, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t work that way,’” Faidley said. “I was at the premiere for the original ‘Twister.’ When I was sitting there I kept seeing all these mistakes.”
Despite inaccuracies, Faidley admits the movie is “entertaining.” But “chasers want documentaries, they want all real footage.”
“I think the average person who knows nothing about storm chasing will absolutely love the new movie. ... They are always designed for people who don’t know a lot.”
Towne and Faidley both said they planned on seeing “Twisters.”
“I’m keeping a very open mind to the sequel,” Towne said, who had a showtime for the sequel set for an hour after his interview.
‘There is an emotional cost’ to chasing
“Seeing a tornado hit a house or level a house, you’re not going to be able to walk away and forget that image,” Towne said.
Towne’s team includes two counselors, who work with their storm chasers to assist in recovering from seeing devastating disasters.
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“You have to been mentally prepared to see something that you’re not going to ever be able to unsee,” Towne said.
“Walking through a home that now nobody can ever live in again, they have to rebuild completely. How do these families restart? The mentality of seeing that, it’s hard on a person.”
Witnessing the destruction caused by storms is “a very terrible side to this whole business,” Faidley said. “I’ve always told people when I eventually stop chasing one day, the one thing I won’t miss is seeing the destruction.”
“The tornados can do some terrible things,” Faidley said. “There is an emotional cost.”
