I don't know why but I love movies with tornados in them. This, Where the Heart Is, Twister... Does anyone else?
The tornado part was always my favourite part of this film. And I always remember that woman who told the boy to hop into her car because it was safe in there, and then we see her dead in her upside down car. *shudder*
And did you notice in the fantasy "dream sequence" at the end she is sitting there in church?
shareExcuse me, but you forgot Wizard of Oz.
You probably wouldn't love movies with tornados if you experienced one in real life.
We have Category 1 (sometimes 2, very rarely 3) hurricanes.
Very dangerous.
Sometimes I wonder if Mr Benton based the tornado scene on the tornado outbreak of May 6,1930 that struck the nearby communities of Waxahachie. This F4 tornado touched down near Bynum, in Hill County, crossed into Navarro County east of Mertens, struck the town of Frost, where it killed at least 25 persons. Continuing toward the northeast, it caused additional deaths south of Rankin, south of Bardwell. It then crossed into Ellis County and killed citizens of Ennis. Its total death toll was 41, with over 200 persons injured.
Various Towns, TX Tornados Cause Death And Damage, May 1930
Posted March 11th, 2008 by Stu Beitler
TORNADO TOLL NOW 66.
RELIEF WORK IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH TEXAS GETS UNDER WAY; LOSS HEAVY.
Dallas, Texas, May 7. -- Sixty-six persons were killed, many were injured and property damage estimated at more than $500,000 was caused by a tornado which struck in Central and South Texas late yesterday, a partial check revealed today.
The death list included the following:
Twenty-five men, a woman and three children near Runge.
Seven men, three women, four children and ten negroes near Frost.
Two persons near Waco.
A fifteen-year-old boy and a child near Ennis.
Two men, two women and three negroes at Bynum.
Two men at San Antonio and Bronson.
Kenedy, 10 miles from Runge, reported 12 deaths, but it was believed some, at least, of the fatalities there were accounted for in the Runge list.
Striking yesterday afternoon, the tornado took the greatest toll of life at Frost, in East Central Texas, and at Runge, in South Central Texas.
Having lived in 'Tornado Alley' (north central OK) for many years, they got it right about the car - it's the very last place you want to be when a tornado comes through.
However, just for the record, nearly all tornadoes are part of a storm front that takes hours to pass through and finally diminish. I had to smile when, just shortly after the tornado in this movie, Edna et al. emerge from the shelter. The sun is shining, sky clear, hardly any wind! And everything is dry! In reality the rain & wind may go on for hours.
"And I always remember that woman who told the boy to hop into her car because it was safe in there, and then we see her dead in her upside down car. *shudder*"
I know!
I knew that was going to happen, it was a stupid place to go to during a tornado!
Do tornadoes usually happen in Texas?
If so, then that woman (and the people with her) should have known better!
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"
I live at the "tippy top" of tornado alley in Wisconsin. While we don't have the numbers of tornadoes that those further south do, the ones we do have are doozies. But to refute this a bit, I can remember very well storms with tornado activity which dissipated so fast that the sun cracked through the clouds within minutes after the wind passed. Then again, they can hang around for HOURS beatin' the heck out of anything underneath them. Perhaps it just has to do with the direction the storm is moving.
The funniest "tornado" depiction I have seen is in "Twister" where the main characters bind themselves to plumbing and ride it out waving in the wind like flags. For the record, this is a sure way to DIE in a tornado.
For some reason, most older houses in my area do have basements as do many of the newer homes. So why do so many homes further south NOT have basements when tornadoesn are so commonn? That always puzzled me.
It's true they don't have basements, but they do have storm cellars. My grandmother had such - but the house did not. In fact, it was raised off the ground in order to allow cooling breezes in the summer. Texas followed that building tradition, as well.
In our area (Louisiana) the water table is too high. Very few buildings have basements or cellars. In south Louisiana, many graves are actually tombs above ground for the same reason. Underground shelters would be difficult to keep from flooding here.
The funniest "tornado" depiction I have seen is in "Twister" where the main characters bind themselves to plumbing and ride it out waving in the wind like flags. For the record, this is a sure way to DIE in a tornado.
I usually like them but hated "Twister". The special effects were nearly comical.
shareTry being in a real tornado sometime! Maybe then you won't be so obsessed with them!
shareI have seen this movie many times and never picked up on that for some reason. Thanks for pointing it out; how ironic.
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