'They nailed it': Sask. storm chaser says new film 'Twisters' gives people realistic experience

Saskatchewan storm chaser Ricky Forbes has had a front row seat to many tornadoes and other weather phenomenon throughout his career, which made him a prime candidate to help consult makers of the film "Twisters."

The film raked in more than $90 million in its opening weekend and Forbes got the opportunity to walk the red carpet thanks to his role in helping make the film.

“I did a bit of consulting for it so I was able to be there on the red carpet, I also did work with GoPro. GoPro was a big part of the Twisters movie. If you watch, you’ll see their cameras at work just like we use them for real life storm chasing,” Forbes said, adding he got the opportunity to view the movie’s premiere in Hollywood.

Forbes said much like the original 1996 film, "Twister," the new film is true to storm chasing which makes it a cult classic among many in Forbes’ line of work.

“The original "Twister" movie in 1996 was true to storm chasing then, where "Twisters" is true to storm chasing now. I was worried a sequel never quite lives up but it did,” he said.

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Forbes said everything weather related in the film happens in real life weather events.

“The way they did it is exactly how we do storm chasing today, they had many different storm chasers consulting on it,” he said.

Forbes also said the film nailed all aspects of storm chasing, even going as far as the meetings at gas stations and rivalries between different chasers.

“Even the language, the slang, they nailed it all,” he said, adding the film will more than likely become a new cult classic for storm chasers.

Do not try this

Unless you’re a trained professional like Forbes, storm chasing is something that should not be done for fun.

“Maybe that is one thing the movie did was downplay the danger of storms, the way they anchored down inside one of the storms with a regular truck is impossible,” Forbes said.

Forbes said people need to respect how dangerous Mother Nature can be.

Even far away from a tornado funnel, Forbes warned you can be hit with flying debris, and said the “suck zone” can also be much larger than many people may realize.

“It takes years of experience to do what we are doing,” Forbes said.

For Forbes, the message of how dangerous his profession can be is something he wants to emphasize, noting that during a recent chase in Canada, he witnessed hundreds of vehicles out with amateurs inside them trying to get a glimpse of one of Earth’s most captivating weather phenomenon.

“I do believe everyone should see storms, but it’s chaos, it’s quite easy for someone not experienced to get themselves into a situation that’s quite dangerous,” he said.

Forbes said for those interested in storm chasing, it’s imperative to do substantial research first and always team up with others.