MET 1010

 Meteorology 1010

 Project 2  - Weather and Home Ownership

Reflection

As my analysis of a weather system in a Hollywood film, I have chosen the movie Twister. Twister was released in 1996 and starred Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Helen Hunt plays a university professor who is working on a project to capture the happenings of what goes on inside a tornado while it is happening – an undocumented live event. Her ex husband was helping her develop a prototype machine given the classical name of Dorothy. Helen Hunt’s character has been developing Dorothy since her and Bill split. They have some rivals in the business who have a similar machine designed to do exactly what Dorothy is capable of. The team feels the incessant need to place Dorothy in a tornado to see if they can collect the data first and not be cheated by their rivals. The film captures them ‘storm chasing’ in and out of agricultural fields and in one scene looking from the bottom up of a funnel.

So first off, what exactly is a tornado and how do they occur? According to The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), ‘A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, it is hard to see a tornado unless it forms a condensation funnel made up of water droplets, dust and debris. Tornadoes are the most violent of all atmospheric storms.’ Tornados are naturally occurring phenomenon that takes place on most of the continents throughout the world. They are classified based on an intensity scale known as the Fujita-Pearson Intensity scale that ranges from least destructive F0-F5. Typically the high season, or ‘Tornado season’ as some call it, occur between the months of March-June. As current research suggests, tornados are typically associated with a thunderstorm event. According to the NSSL, the exact mechanisms by which a tornado forms is largely unknown. Meteorologists speculate that they form from mesocyclones, which are rotating circular thunderstorms. It is thought that temperature differences take place, specially rain falling from a cloud creating a downdraft at the tail end, while the front end is experiencing updrafts and humid pockets of air into the center. The temperature change in the newly added humid air causes a rise in air mass which propels the strength of the storm.

Now down to the science between the movie and what the experts have to say on tornado’s. One of the first points to bring up is how the classification works between the movie and how it works in real life. In one scene, the team in the movie identifies a tornado beginning to form and classifies it immediately. According to meteorologists Chris Capella and Kathryn Prociv, the classification of a tornado is not made until after the event has occurred. The classification gives an estimated wind speed based on the amount of damage and the strength of wind needed to create said damage.  I listed a breakdown of each classification below.

·         F-0 40-72 mph, Light damage, chimney damage, tree branches broken

·         F-1 73-112 mph, Moderate damage, mobile homes pushed off foundation or flipped over

·         F-2 113-157 mph, Considerable damage, mobile homes demolished, trees uprooted

·         F-3 158-205 mph, Severe damage, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown around

·         F-4 207-260 mph, Devastating damage, well-constructed walls leveled

·         F-5 261-318 mph, Violent damage, homes lifted off foundation and carried considerable distances, autos thrown as far as 100 meters.

Next, on multiple occasions the truck they use to navigate during the movie remains unharmed during many instances when heavier objects are being thrown all around them. This inconsistency happens several times. In real life, a tornado is not so selective in what it picks up but is dependent on the proximity of an object and the wind speed able to displace that object. Tornado’s often operate as a black hole, in that an event horizon, or zone of interaction exists where everything inside of that zone will be consumed or have some damage inflicted upon it.

There is an assumption in the movie that states how every time the sky turned a ‘greenish color’ that a tornado was imminent. According to the science, this a fallacy and not a definite indicator that a tornado will result. What actually is happening is the high clouds in the atmosphere are only able to reflect colors in the green spectrum, specifically through rain and hail. The main reason that green skies and tornado’s are associated with one another are because storms intense enough to produce hail and heavy amounts of rain have all of the ingredients to support a tornado as well.

Lastly, the infamous scene where they are looking at the bottom of a tornado funnel, holding on for dear life and chained to a metal pipe. While the likely hood of this happening and being able to survive is very limited, the idea that a tornado has an ‘eye’ in its center is a well understood and accepted belief. Many radar images clearly show an ‘eye’ at the center of most major storms, and tornados are no exception. While they may not resemble the same clarity as was depicted in the movie due to debris, the channel in the middle is a band to which the rest of the vortex circulates around.The center funnel is an area of low pressure air while the area toward the outer edges consists of high pressure. As the spinning vortex continues on, the outer high pressure air attempts to move toward the center and this rejuvenating process continues until the humid dry air at the front of the storm depletes.

 Fun Tornado Facts form Missouri Storm Aware

• Tornadoes cause an average of 70 fatalities and 1,500 injuries in the U.S. each year.
• The strongest tornadoes have rotating winds of more than 250 mph.
• Tornadoes can be more than one mile wide and stay on the ground for over 50 miles.
• Tornadoes may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms within the funnel.
• The average forward speed is 30 mph but may vary from nearly stationary to 70 mph.
• Waterspouts are tornadoes which form over warm water. They can move onshore and cause damage to coastal areas.

http://stormaware.mo.gov/tornado-facts-history/

I hope you have enjoyed my summary, explanation of tornados, and comparison with the science. This is a favorite film to many. While there are some dramatizations with the cinematography, it is enjoyable by expert and novice alike.  

Works Cited

"Tornado." UXL Encyclopedia of Science. 2002, "Tornadoes." Dictionary of American History. 2003, "tornado." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2015, "tornado." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009, "tornado." World Encyclopedia. 2005, AILSA ALLABY;MICHAEL ALLABY, Michael Allaby, T., and "tornado." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. "Tornado." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 2002. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

Lutgens, Frederick K., and Edward J. Tarbuck. The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.

"Tornado Basics." NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

"Here's Everything They Got Wrong (and Right) in the Movie Twister." The Vane. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

"Cinema Peer Review: 'Twister' - World Science Festival." World Science Festival. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.