WAKITA—Have you whirled through Wakita lately?
Put on the international map in 1996 thanks to a major blockbuster film called “Twister”, this tiny Oklahoma town of less than 300 residents sees people from around the world walking its nearly deserted streets.
“Warner Bros. told us we’d have visitors for a couple of years,” said Linda Wade, who curated and runs Twister the Movie Museum in downtown Wakita. The film studio urged the town to open the museum 29 years ago.
After the town was essentially demolished in the making of “Twister”—leaving only the water tower as the remaining “movie set prop”—WB donated “debris” from the movie set and the museum was born.
“We were one of the first movie museums,” Wade commented.
The location of the museum is actually the original location office used by cast and crew of “Twister”, Wade said, adding they would check in with the location manager who would direct where they’d be for the day.
The late actor Bill Paxton, who was one of the main stars of the 1996 film as storm chaser-turned-TV weatherman Bill Harding, was a key supporter of the museum, Wade said, pointing out several personal items signed or donated by Paxton.
Despite naysayers who said attendance by movie fans from around the globe would wane, the museum has remained steadfast as a popular attraction in northwest Oklahoma. In fact, Wade said the number of visitors has doubled since the standalone sequel “Twisters” hit theaters this summer.
Those who visit Wakita can take the walking tour through town to see where “Twister” was filmed. In five blocks there are five spots marked by pedestals highlighting its significance in the movie, three of which focus on storm chaser Jo Harding’s (Helen Hunt) Aunt Meg (Lois Smith), whose house and hometown surroundings were prominently portrayed.
Then there is perhaps the most notable star of “Twister”—the Wakita water tower. Thanks to the B-roll footage taken by WB film crews in the early 1990s, Wakita has since starred in several TV shows and movies representing small town America, including the WB Superman prequel “Smallville”.
Storm chasers regularly appear in town and frequently keep in touch with Wade. Just last month two storm chasers from Iowa wed using Wakita’s water tower as their wedding destination.
The museum, and the town really, plays host to a multitude of tourists one weekend in September due in part to the annual “Where’s My Truck?” car show and storm chaser reunion. At this year’s event, several storm chasers and movie extras from both “Twister” and “Twisters” appeared in Wakita.
“Where’s my truck?” is the famous quote by Jo Harding after she and her estranged husband Bill experience a tornado overhead while clinging to bridge supports. Her truck unceremoniously drops in front of them nearly causing Bill’s fiancé Dr. Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz) to wreck his truck.
Twister the Movie Museum has evolved through the years. Wade has accumulated dozens of additional items over the past three decades pertaining to the original movie and has redesigned the museum layout to accommodate.
Among the significant draws is an original Dorothy weather data prototype (there were four made for the movie) and the official Sega pinball machine that actually works.
Wade had planned to connect with some of the “Twisters” main cast during filming last year, but timing never worked out. Glen Powell, who is one of the main stars as YouTube storm chaser Tyler Owens aka Tornado Wrangler, was slated to stop in but his schedule changed and he was waylaid from visiting.
While “Twisters” was wholly filmed in Oklahoma, the nearest the cast and crew got to Wakita this time was Kremlin, 30 minutes south, at the U.S. Highway 81 gas station Midway.
Nevertheless, Twister the Movie Museum features its sequel plus anything related to storm chasing and tornadoes. There is now a hurricane simulator nicknamed “The Suck Zone”—after storm chaser Dusty’s (the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman) memorable line to Bill’s fiancé—for visitors to experience tornadic-like winds.
As always, Wade has a full-sized world map for people to pin where they journeyed from. Among the recent international visitors were fans from the Middle East, Wade mentioned.
And most who stop in don’t leave before peering at merchandise in the upgraded gift shop, backed by Eskimo Joe’s Promotional Products Co. Fans can purchase “Twister” emblazoned memorabilia such shirts, hats, and koozies as well as handcrafted Christmas tree ornaments designed by Wade and friends to mimic the whirly ball weather sensors dispatched by Dorothy in the film.
Aside from the museum and the locally owned restaurant Twister Café, there’s not much left in Wakita, which is close to the Oklahoma-Kansas border. The school closed in 2011 and students merged into the Medford or Pond Creek-Hunter school systems.
There’s not even a ATM in town, so sightseers are urged to get cash before they come if they want to eat at the Twister Café. The museum, however, does accept debit/credit cards and Apple Pay.
There is no admission fee to enter Twister the Movie Museum, yet donations are what keep the museum going, Wade said. During the off-season (September to March), the museum is open by appointment only by calling (580) 594-2312. The museum will reopen again with regular hours from 1-5 p.m. beginning at the start of tornado season in April.
Twister the Movie Museum will celebrate its 30th anniversary next September while “Twister” will officially turn 30 in May 2026. Wade said she hopes to have a big shindig for either occasion, but she’s not getting any younger (she’s in her mid-70s) and she has been eyeing retirement.
However, she cited she loves the museum and finds great joy in its visitors, and since she literally lives a few blocks from it, who knows when or if she actually retires.
To learn more about Twister the Movie Museum, go online to twistermuseum.org or Facebook.com/twisterthemoviemuseum. “Twisters” will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming on Tuesday, October 22. A double feature of “Twister” and “Twisters” also will be available at that time.