A game on Roblox called Twisted takes place in a fictional state called Keysota, giving players the opportunity to learn about how a tornado is formed and how to read a radar. I’ve played this game for about a year and that’s when I met Joshua, Brian Flynn, and the rest of the Storm of Passion team. I also met the director of the documentary, Jesse Gillette, on Roblox which allowed me to meet more storm chasers. 

I flew from the Oakland Airport to the Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City. This was my first time actually leaving the west coast to go into the rural parts of Oklahoma. Once I landed, I was greeted by two friends of mine, Joshua and Tucker. Tucker White works as a storm chaser for KOCO 5, a news channel stationed in Oklahoma. Joshua contributes to making 3D models of TIV 2 (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) for the game Twisted. 

Last semester, I took a Podcast and Radio class, COMM347. Our goal was to make at least three shows on our individual pre-recorded audio shows. On my show, I focused on highlighting games and their importance. My first episode talked about Twisted and that’s when I met Evan Britenbach, the crew chief of the TIV 2 team and a long time storm chaser. He talked about how the TIV works, what got him into storm chasing, and of course some storm chasing advice.

The Storm of Passion team has nine volunteers that are dedicated to preserving and operating a piece of storm-chasing history. The team consists of drivers, navigators, mechanics, and producers, each contributing their expertise to keep the vehicle storm-ready.

Tucker drove Joshua and me around Oklahoma City. This was my first time being in this state so I was able to get the front seat to truly admire the scenic drive. Yes, it is flat. The roads were bumpy but everything else seemed like a small town vibe.

As we drove through Oklahoma, we finally made it to El Reno, Oklahoma. The town has so much history to it. On May 24th, 2011, a violent and long tracking EF5 tornado that had struck parts of northwestern El Reno. This tornado has killed 9 people and injured 181 others; winds reached up to 295 mph. 

Unfortunately, just two years after that, on May 31, 2013, in the rural areas near El Reno was a record-breaking multi-vortex tornado touched down in the rural areas near El Reno. At 2.6 miles wide and deadly, it injured multiple storm chasers, including Mike Bettes and Dan Robinson. Tim and Paul Samaras, and Carl Young, storm chasers of the TWISTEX team, alongside Richard Henderson, were tragically killed. The Storm of Passion team and a few others, including myself, had met up at the TWISTEX memorial site which was truly an honor to pay my respects and meet the team. 

All the items that were left there are from people from out of state and paying their respects. There’s license plates from different states, 3D printed items such as a probe, another storm chasing vehicle, and soda cans. There was even a welded tornado statue on the right side.

When we got into the downtown of El Reno, we pulled up to the theater. Everyone was taking photos and little did I know, the movie theater where the film was premiering was actually the same movie theater in the new Twisters movie! Spoiler alert, this movie ended up getting destroyed in the movie from an EF5 tornado. 

The Storm of Passion Team’s film documentary was a masterpiece of telling the story of a father and son relationship with storm chasing. It talked about the start of this passion, PTSD that came from it, but overall they work together to analyze the tornadoes path, help with those that were impacted, and capture amazing shots. It’s an unforgettable learning experience. 

Storm chasing is a very dangerous job but it could be an eye opening experience for those that have not seen mother nature’s wrath. This experience has taught me that there’s much more out there than earthquakes, occasional cells producing thunderstorms, and extreme drought.