(note: I meant to post this last week, but forgot…sorry!)

May 10, 1996: The movie “Twister” is released. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years. One of the very, very few movies that I attended on opening night. Having lived in Oklahoma in the mid-80s and being utterly fascinated by tornadoes, I was very excited about “Twister.” Particularly since when it was released, I lived in Mountain View, California - not exactly “Tornado Alley.” And sure, there was some cheese in the movie - for instance, when Paxton’s character picks up some gravel/sand while pondering the clouds, as if that could give him some mystical insight into the storm.
And as luck would have it, less than a year after the movie was released, I wound up living in Enid, Oklahoma, not too far from Wakita, where some of the movie action took place and which is now home to a Twister (The Movie) museum. In fact, if you listen carefully when the chase team is at the aunt’s house, you’ll notice Oklahoma’s semi-legendary meteorologist Gary England on the TV screen and mentioning Garfield County (where Enid is located). And when I got my first haircut in Enid, the barbers were still gossiping about the cast of the movie, and how they behaved when they came through town to film the movie.
And the movie has plenty of trivia and fun facts associated with it: It was the first movie released on DVD. It was nominated for two Oscars. Sales of the Dodge Ram pickup truck spiked after the release. It currently ranks as the 41st biggest blockbuster in the US (73rd, when adjusted for inflation). And so on. You can also take a quiz to test your knowledge of the movie!
I’ve heard some folks state that viewing “Twister” is almost like watching a “how-to” movie, and although I don’t think that I would ever strap myself to plumbing fixtures in the middle of a field to ride out an F5, it certainly did provide some inspiration. I haven’t officially chased a tornado yet, but someday…