Twisters: Is It Possible to Stop a Tornado in the Real World?

Following the recent release of Twisters, fans have been wondering if it is scientifically possible to stop a tornado in real life using the methods shown in the movie. This curiosity arises after witnessing the characters Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) use science to somehow make the EF5 tornado dissipate.

Is it possible to stop a real-world tornado using the science depicted in Twister? Can the scientific method used by the characters in the film work in real life to stop an EF5 tornado? Find out here.

Can you kill a tornado in the real world using Twisters’ science?

As intriguing as the movie’s premise is, it is currently not possible to stop a tornado in the real world using the science from Twisters. Moreover, the method Kate and Tyler used to stop a tornado in the film is currently unproven in real life.

Kevin Kelleher, a tornado consultant for Twisters and 1996’s Twister who worked at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma for much of his career, highlighted the impracticality of this in real life. (via USA Today)

In the movie, Kate Carter uses a truckload of chemicals to neutralize the tornado. She then drives the truck to a nearby town. Carter then releases those chemicals onto the tornado in a timed manner leveling with the town. This ends up neutralizing the tornado and causing it to dissipate.

Unfortunately, the method Kate uses in the movie to stop a tornado is practically impossible right now, according to Kelleher. He revealed that it would require at least 22,000 tons of chemicals to dissipate a tornado like Kate did. Additionally, he mentioned that 22,000 tons of chemicals would not easily fit inside the back of a pickup truck. He then concluded by saying that what the film showed was simply science fiction.

According to a report by Inverse, it is also impossible to simply blow up a tornado. Associate professor of atmospheric science at Purdue University, Robin Tanamachi, stated that a tornado’s height, including circulation, is about eight miles. She also said that its width is around 650 meters across.

Additionally, Tanamachi noted that the energy in the tornado column is equaled to roughly “one Hiroshima atomic bomb per second” and that people would need 60 atomic bombs to neutralize a one-minute tornado’s circulation. She further emphasized that releasing 60 atomic bombs into the atmosphere is not only impractical but also ill-advised.