Photos from Facebook from a guy who teaches a storm class here in Oklahoma.
Wrapping up Twisters opening weekend with one more behind the scenes memory.
In April, 2023, we were approached by the Twisters production office about doing a storm spotter class for the cast and crew. As we talked about the class, I asked them if they wanted 1) a storm spotter class; 2) a weather class with info to help actors with their roles in the movie; or 3) a tornado safety class to help everyone new to Oklahoma in springtime. The answer was yes - we want all three.
On May 3rd, 2023, we hosted nine of the cast and nine crew members for the training. It didn't really have a name, but I've heard someone refer to it as Tornado Bootcamp or Tornadoes 101. We started around 8am and it lasted two hours.
I covered Oklahoma tornado culture to illustrate how big of a deal tornadoes are to the people who live here, covering everything from Saturday siren tests to IPAs named after weather terms to TV meteorologist drinking games and bingo cards to storm anxiety and PTSD. I talked about the Twister effect, which saw meteorology school enrollments double or triple in some cases after Twister came out. I did some basic storm spotter training and a little severe weather meteorology, and wrapped up with tornado safety (including a slide illustrating how it was not safe to shelter under a wooden bridge or by strapping yourself to a pipe using screen grabs from Twister.)
The class was very interactive. Daisy Edgar Jones and Glen Powell sat front row center and Daisy had her notebook and took notes the entire time. I got really good questions from the class and I could tell they were genuinely interested.
We followed up the class with an extended tour/visit to SPC and the WFO, with a lot more great questions and discussion. We ended the visit talking vehicles and technology with Sean Waugh. I think some of them would have stayed all day if they had been able to.
