
Is Twiste R's Dorothy real?
One of the biggest aspects of real storm chasing that made the leap from fact to fiction was Twiste r's research device, Dorothy. The instrument used by Jo, Bill, and the team was directly based on the TOtable Tornado Observatory (TOTO) used by the NOAA and NSSL researchers decades prior.
Is Dorothy based on a true story?
Dorothy was inspired by the real life TOTO. TOTO (Totable Tornado Observatory) was an in-situ instrument developed by NOAA in attempts to measure winds inside a tornado. Here is a picture of Dorothy, DOT-3 (later seen in the film), and the real life TOTO, seen to the right.
What does Dorothy mean in Wizard of Oz?
It is a reference to the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" and the character from the same movie (picture is seen on the can) W.I.P. "Dorothy" is a scientific tornado instrument used to analyze data and to radio back information to create a advanced warning system. It was first built by Jo and Bill Harding before their divorce.
What is a Dorothy tornado?
"Dorothy" is a scientific tornado instrument used to analyze data and to radio back information to create a advanced warning system. It was first built by Jo and Bill Harding before their divorce. There are four Dorothys and each contains hundreds of sensors to radio back data about the funnel structure, wind speeds.

Is Dorothy from Twister a real thing?
Dorothy and D.O.T. 3 are props based on TOTO and were used in the movie "Twister." All three are on display at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
Is there any truth to the movie Twister?
While Twister isn't an entirely accurate depiction of storm chasing and its characters are fictional, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been happy to point out that the movie was based on real, solid work of the good people at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory.
Who is Dorothy in the Twister?
"Dorothy" is a scientific tornado instrument used to analyze data and to radio back information to create a advanced warning system. It was first built by Jo and Bill Harding before their divorce. There are four Dorothys and each contains hundreds of sensors to radio back data about the funnel structure, wind speeds.
What happened to Dorothy 2 in Twister?
Bill and Jo realize it is over a hill, and they go through a hailstorm to find it. Upon finding the tornado, Bill and Jo try to set up Dorothy 2, but run out of time. A power pole falls on the truck, ruining Dorothy 2. The tornado then lifts back into the clouds.
Is Wakita a real town?
Wakita is a town in Grant County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1898, approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of the Kansas border. Its population was 344 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 18.1 percent (from 420) at the 2000 census. Wakita is notable as a location in the 1996 feature film Twister.
Will there ever be a Twister 2?
And there actually is something called "Twister 2," according to the Internet Movie Database, which describes "Twister 2: The Terror Continues" as "footage of real tornadoes without any coherent story." But a true sequel to the movie doesn't exist, despite trending on Twitter occasionally.
How many Dorothy devices did they make?
As the team pursues a developing F1 tornado, Bill accidentally gets Jo's vehicle stuck in a ditch, eventually crashing it into a small bridge. They seek shelter under the bridge as the tornado destroys the truck, along with one of the four Dorothy prototypes.
Can a tornado pick up a cow?
A: Tornadoes have tipped over trains and sucked up cows, but the objects that travel farthest are, not surprisingly, small and light.
What is the biggest tornado ever?
the El RenoOfficially, the widest tornado on record is the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of May 31, 2013 with a width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km) at its peak.
What happened to Jo's mom in Twister?
(at around 4 mins) In the opening scene, when Jo's family is in the cellar, her father tries to hold the door shut, and ends up getting consumed by the tornado. Jo and her mother, despite the door being torn off, remain unaffected by the tornado.
What's the heaviest thing a tornado can lift?
30,000 poundsWhat is the heaviest thing a tornado has ever picked up? The Pampa, Texas tornado moved machinery that weighted more that 30,000 pounds. Whether it was slid or picked up, we don't know. A tornado would certainly have no trouble tossing a 2000 -3000 pound van into the air.
How unrealistic is the movie Twister?
Twister realistically depicted quite a bit about real-life storm chasing. The NOAA had a presence in the movie as did the NSSL team. The aforementioned technology and instruments used by Jo and her team were inspired by real methods of storm chasing and research.
What is Dorothy's inspiration?
Dorothy is inspired by the real-world equivalent tornado observatory "TOTO" (Which is also named after Toto the dog in "The Wizard of Oz), used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What is a Dorothy tornado?
"Dorothy" is a scientific tornado instrument used to analyze data and to radio back information to create a advanced warning system . It was first built by Jo and Bill Harding before their divorce. There are four Dorothys and each contains hundreds of sensors to radio back data about the funnel structure, wind speeds.
What happened to Dorothy II's sensors?
The tornado shifted into the overhead utility lines and a pole lands on the bed of the truck and Dorothy II's sensors spilled out before dissipating, Jo tried to recover all the sensors, but Bill throws her back into truck and drove away from the already unstable tornado.
Why did Bill and Jo not fly Dorothy III?
With the two Dorothys now in the back of the truck, now with the F5 Oklahoma tornado, loaded with sensors, Jo and Bill got Dorothy III ready to go to fly, it was unsuccessful because the wind was tossing it from one side to the other before a tree knocked down Dorothy and spilled out the sensors.
What is Dorothy's purpose?
The purpose is to create a advanced warning system from 3 minutes to 15 minutes. It is a reference to the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" and the character from the same movie (picture is seen on the can)
Who introduced Dorothy to Bill?
Dorothy was first introduced to Bill by Jo during a reveal on the back of Jo's 1982 J-10 Honcho. Jonas Miller introduced the counterpart to Dorothy: the Digital Orthographic Telemeter (or DOT 3 for short), it shares the same counterparts as Dorothy: atmospheric pressure, dew point temperatures, satellite com-link, on-pulse doppler radar. This angers Bill and confronts Jonas by saying that Jonas stole his design, but Jonas slyly said that he was trying to give him credit for his design, to Jonas' eyes, it was a 'unrealized idea.' The first Dorothy launch did not went to plan during the F1 "Ditch" Tornado as Bill and Jo tried to intercept the tornado, but caught up in the damage path, they took cover instead, when Jo's truck went up in the air, so did Dorothy, the truck (and Dorothy) landed in front of Melissa's Ram 2500.
Was Dorothy II deployed during the tornado?
Dorothy II was next to be loaded up, it wasn't deployed during the F2 "Sidewinder" tornado, but it saw action during the F3 "Jumper" tornado as Bill tries to get Dorothy II deployed, despite getting hail rained on, a branch hits Bill, and head slammed into the 3rd brake light.
Why does Dorothy's instrument get knocked down?
Because of which, instead of flying right into the twister, the instrument simply gets knocked down and spills all of its sensors . The unstable contraption of Dorothy makes them realize that they need to do something more to ensure that its sensors are able to fly right out of it.
What happens in the opening scene of Twister?
In the opening scene of ‘Twister’, a family of three rushes down to its tornado protection shed. The father in the family holds down the door of the shed. But eventually, the door of the shed breaks loose and he gets blown away into the funnel of the twister while his wife and daughter just helplessly stand there watching him. Later in the movie, there’s a scene where Jo’s crew stops by at Aunt Meg’s place for lunch. That’s when they start discussing all the scales of tornadoes that they’ve experienced and even claim that only one of them has seen a Fujita-5 twister.
When was Twister made?
The film Twister, produced by Warner Brothers Entertainment in 1996, was an entertainment masterpiece that attracted young minds to the idea of extreme weather. Looking back now, how accurate was the film Twister?
Where did the tornadoes leave in the movie Twister?
Twister fact check #24: They leave Wakita, Oklahoma, only to end up near Ames, Iowa, for the fourth tornado in the film. There is no possible way to make it that distance while driving and still have daylight given they left Wakita in the afternoon.
Why did the crew stop filming Twister?
The crew actually had to stop filming one time (which was actually ongoing during the first VORTEX mission) due to a legitimate threat of a severe thunderstorm and tornado. Screenshot of the supercell at the beginning of the film Twister. Image credit: Warner Brothers Entertainment.
Is Wakita real in Twister?
Twister fact check #32: When they arrive in Wakita again, the damage that you see in the movie was real. However, part of the town was intentionally destroyed by the film crew as part of the movie set. As a cameo, Jo’s parents at the beginning of the movie are briefly seen standing within the damaged area.
Is there a tornado in real life?
It’s just a stratus cloud deck. However, it is possible to have such high based tornadoes in real life.
