How 3 Oklahoma meteorology students got their class scribbles a role in 'Twisters'

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Meet the Oklahoma meteorology grad students whose notes were used as Twisters props

Three grad students at the University of Oklahoma were asked by the "Twisters" crew if they could use their notes from their college dynamics classes as props in the movie and they were excited to participate.

MOORE, Okla. — The filmmakers behind the movie "Twisters" wanted the meteorology to be as authentic as possible – right down to using actual college class notes as props.

The film features storm chasers studying tornadoes in Oklahoma. To the normal person, it can be easy to overlook some of the weather-related details in the film. But do you ever wonder how accurate they are?

Three meteorology Ph.D. candidates at the University of Oklahoma had a part in some minor but important details for the movie. There are scenes where the main character Kate Carter, played by actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, is seen looking back at her notes from her earlier college day research projects.

(Rachel Cross / FOX Weather)

But those notes weren’t just random scribbles; they were actual formulas and diagrams taken from University of Oklahoma meteorology classes.

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"So some of the prop crew came and did some interviews with some grad students, myself included," Rachel Cross told FOX Weather. "And it was during that time that they offered or presented the opportunity for me to write the notebook. So I reached out to Maddy (Diedrichsen) and then another grad student, Emily Lenhart to use their expertise. (We) put together a draft, and then gave them the final copy."

She said the notes were compiled from various classes they have taken along with some research notes and classes where they are teaching assistants.

(FOX Weather)

"I think combined with all of our efforts, it's probably 40 to 50 hours of work," Cross said. "And we took notes from our research meetings, we took notes from thermodynamics classes, supercell and tornado dynamics, along with atmospheric chemistry and physics."

The producers left it up to the students what to include to make the scene make sense.

"We got to hand pick the notes we wanted to include in the notebook that helps with some of what was shown in the movie," Diedrichsen said. "And then also having to rewrite it so it looked a little nicer than the scrunched-up notes most grad students have."

(Rachel Cross / FOX Weather)

So, after seeing the finished project, what did they think about the movie?

"We both got to see the movie here in Moore, Oklahoma, and there's definitely some parts that I could definitely see that we've done in field work before," Diedrichsen said. "But then there's others, some that were shown on TV here is a little bit more dramaticized and not quite where we're getting to. So we like to, in our fieldwork, collect data a little bit further away from the tornadoes to keep our safety in check, both driving and also with the storms. So it’s a little different."

The trio are in their third and fourth years of earning their PhD from the University of Oklahoma.