Take a self-guided tour through Northwest Oklahoma Buzz territory to see up close and personal where “Twisters” was filmed! Each site is marked with an official sign indicating you’re in the right place.
Guided bus tours are in the works … be watching for how you can register and snag limited edition gear! In the meantime, stop at one or all of the five locations listed below. You can purchase exclusive Twisters Tour merchandise at both the Twister the Movie Museum in Wakita or Midway Station outside Kremlin. If you can’t find the right size or want more merch, click on the link below for NWOKBuzz.com Twisters Tour designer Custom Creations by Jeri of Garber to have it shipped directly to your door!
WAKITA
In 1995, this rural community of less than 500 people just south of the Kansas border became ground zero for nearly six months as Warner Brothers aka WB film studio staged the tiny town as the principal site for a little film called “Twister” that quickly became a cult classic for storm chasers and a fan favorite for Okies. Today, nearly 30 years after “Twister” debuted on the silver screen, Wakita still draws hundreds of visitors from around the world eager to whirl through and experience Twister the Movie Museum with its beloved curator Linda Wade. The zenith of Twister the Movie Museum is the original Dorothy weather data prototype (there were four made for the movie) that sits in the center of the museum complete with working lights. After “Twisters”, a modern reboot of “Twister” that paid homage to its predecessor, came out in 2024, the museum recently accepted what will be one of that movie’s zenith props—the trailer full of yellow barrels used to release super-absorbent polymer solution to potentially destabilize or dissipate tornadoes. Additional “Twisters” props now include the neon motel sign that was damaged during the tornado scene at the fake Stillwater rodeo arena with the late Bill Paxton’s son James playing a complaining motel guest, a dirty Storm Par shirt along with an actual panel from the Storm Par scanner used to phase array radar tornadoes in the film, and the Stetson worn by Glen Powell’s stunt double Cody Mackie. Admission is free.
FUN TWIST: The museum is the original building that the 1996 movie’s cast and crew operated out of throughout the filming so visitors are literally walking in the footsteps of Bill (the late Bill Paxton) and Jo (Helen Hunt) as well as the hundreds of local extras, cast, and crew members.
POND CREEK
While “Twisters” didn’t actually film in Pond Creek, it is home to the yellow cropdusting plane that moviegoers witness in several scenes. Deterding Aerial on the south edge of town provided both the 502 B-34 Air Tractor and the aviator to fly it. Pilots Randy Alexander (who even got a movie credit), Kevin Deterding, and Daniel Yoder all appeared in the scene at the gas station Midway and its adjoining garage which served as the building double for Deterding Aerial 20 miles away. Deterding Aerial is actively operating year-round, and the owner’s living quarters are on the property next to the tarmac and business office; please be respectful and observe the posted signs of where you can or cannot go.
FUN TWIST: There was a fabricated prop for Deterding Aerial that read “serving northern Oklahoma farmers and ranchers” erected during filming on the northeast side of Midway that mimicked the cropdusting company’s actual sign on U.S. 60.
KREMLIN
Midway, the gas station west of Kremlin on U.S. 81, was shut down for four days for a facelift inside and out as well as filming. Three scenes were included in “Twisters” while a fourth scene hit the cutting room floor and can be found among the deleted scenes on Blu-Ray. Behind the building in the east gravel parking lot is where Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) conversed about the skies—eagle-eyed fans will spot the antenna tower, the house, and the propeller design on the back wall when they arrive. Inside Midway, the women’s bathroom where Kate washed her hands and gazed at herself in the mirror retained the seagreen walls; otherwise, the bathroom doesn’t look anything like the movie because all the other props were removed by the crew. The staff at Midway are aiming to restore the dining area so film buffs can pose in the booth like Javi (Anthony Ramos) and Scott (David Corenswet) talking with Storm Par investor Riggs (David Born) until Kate interrupts. The missing scene of Kate chatting with Boone (Brandon Perea) as they watch the TV—which was temporarily mounted where the coffee and soda fountains are—and handle snacks shows how Midway’s free-standing shelves and deli cases were resituated.
FUN TWIST: Midway is a genuine gas station and café, so when film buffs visit, they can fuel up their vehicles with gas and their hunger with burgers, chicken strips, pizza, salad, and more. Plus you can pick up Twisters Tour merchandise too!
ORIENTA
Midway’s former sister station Lone Ranger at the junction of U.S. 412 and U.S. 60 in Orienta appeared in “Twisters” and features the first time Kate meets Tyler.
FUN TWIST: Lone Ranger hasn’t been an active open gas station for over 10 years, so visitors will have to make a pit stop six miles south in nearby Fairview while checking out the next film location.
FAIRVIEW
The motel scene in “Twisters” where the two storm chasing teams converge for the night was filmed at Heritage Inn on the north side of Fairview along U.S. 60. Heritage Inn was renamed Medford Motel for the movie according to the call sheet by Dirt Road Films LLC, however, no motel signage is visible in that film clip. Fans can pose on the middle stairs and room landing much like Kate did during her conversation with Tyler’s team that evening; the motel’s managers ask visitors please be respectful of paying motel guests and their privacy.
FUN TWIST: Heritage Inn is a functioning motel, so film buffs can rent a room and stay the night, but there are no guarantees you can have Kate’s room though.
