Top 20 Most DESTRUCTIVE Tornadoes In Movies

Top 20 Most Destructive Movie Tornadoes

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 20 most destructive, fictional movie tornadoes - including classic disaster movies, but also some one-off and spectacular scenes.

#20: Tornado! (1996)

With The Evil Dead’s Bruce Campbell topping the bill, in “Tornado!” you get exactly what the title promises. Campbell’s Jake Thorne is a stormchaser, and there are some big storms cutting their ruinous path through this made-for-TV film. Naturally, though, the one near the end is the greatest (and most consequential) of all, as Jake is made to suffer… all while trying to gain funding for an early warning system that could one day change the world. In general, the year 1996 was a breakout moment for movie tornadoes, and we will be returning to it later in this video.

#19: Fire Twister (2015)

How to make a devastating tornado even worse? Just add fire. That’s the premise behind this low budget (and poorly received) movie, but what it lacks in cinematic style and visual effects… it makes up for, well, in its intent to destroy. No matter how you slice it, the fire storm at the heart of the action here is straight outta hell. A blistering twister that melts steel and incinerates its victims, it also happens to be almost unkillable. There’s a lot of questionable story building to set it all up - with corrupt CIA officials and a long list of dead associates - but the unique storm is the main event.

#18: Where The Heart Is (2000)

Right in the middle of a romantic drama movie isn’t perhaps where you’d expect to find a ferocious tornado, but what d’you know it works! With Natalie Portman playing the lead as Novalee, up until this point we’ve seen her forced to hide out in a Walmart at the beginning of the story, and then having to raise her daughter alone. And, when a tornado rips through the town in which she’s building a new life, taking among its victims one of her dearest friends, it’s a pivotal moment. In terms of the tornado itself, the moral of the scene is always remember to close your storm shelter doors.

#17: Man of Steel (2013)

As a God on Earth and a legend among us, you might think that Superman would be unfazed by the wind - no matter how powerful it may be. And yet, a tornado plays a vital role in his origins story, in this the first installment of the DC Extended Universe. After a tense conversation between him and his adopted father, Jonathan, the family realize that they’re driving into trouble. But, despite Clark most likely having power enough to at least influence events, Jonathan is intent on him keeping his powers hidden from the world. Intent to the point of heroic sacrifice. In this moment, when faced with nature’s fury, even Superman is powerless.

#16: Night of the Twisters (1996)

On to our second movie from 1996 (and still not our last), “Night of the Twisters” sets the action in Nebraska. Multiple towns are caught up in the chaos, as some sudden and violent cyclones take hold. There isn’t quite the budget as there is with some of our other entries, but even so when the storm hits proper… it sparks pandemonium. And, with it all happening in the dark of the night, there’s always that feeling that you never quite know what will happen next.

#15: Thor (2011)

Admittedly, this is probably ‘tornado’ in the loosest possible sense, but even so there’s no denying its power. We’re back in the early days of the MCU here, and Thor looks down and out in his first movie. But then Mjölnir goes to him and all kinds of atmospheric wonders unfurl. In the swirling carnage of what happens next, our hero is able to defeat the Destroyer and turn the tide against the forces of evil. If nothing else, it’s a scene to prove that when you need to show the power of a god, then a tornado-like, cyclone-esque something just makes a lot of sense.

#14: A Serious Man (2009)

It’s by no means a disaster movie, and the tornado actually only appears in the very final scene (and for the briefest of moments) but the implied destruction is key. After the problems faced by all their characters appear to have been resolved - for better or worse - the Coen Brothers throw us a curveball at the close of “A Serious Man” by showing that any kind of harmony that may exist will be short-lived. This tornado is much more a metaphor, signifying that no matter how much we may feel we’re in control, mother nature (or the wrath of God) can always turn up to suddenly ruin everything. It’s the hopelessness of life, in tornado form.

#13: Finch (2021)

There aren’t many movie scenarios that Tom Hanks hasn’t tried his hand at, so why not a post-apocalyptic tornado? In “Finch” he plays Finch, an ailing robotics expert trying to survive on a barren Earth fifteen years after a catastrophic solar flare. Extreme weather is now the norm, so when a tornado suddenly appears, Finch battens down the hatches and heads into the hopeful safety of his RV. In just a few short minutes he almost loses everything, including his faithful dog, Goodyear. Fortunately, the pup emerges unscathed… but an already bleak existence gets just a little bleaker, all the same.

#12: 13 Minutes (2021)

Perhaps one thing that some tornado scenes are lacking is that, in focussing on just one or two characters, they forget to properly cover everyone else. Here, though, there’s a real feeling that the entire community is in danger. In “13 Minutes”, the tornado acts as a true before-and-after moment for the residents of a small Oklahoma town. And, when the disaster actually hits, a series of close-up shots gives the sense of claustrophobic panic for those sheltering from the winds. With hailstones the size of golfballs on the ground, there’s no doubting that this is a major storm.

#11: Geostorm (2017)

What if you could weaponize the weather? That’s the question to inspire this slightly alternative take on the disaster movie model. And, ultimately, tornadoes are but one small part of the overriding chaos. In the scenes where they do appear, though, it’s carnage. And there’s nothing Gerard Butler can do about it. With a malfunctioning satellite system cruising around the Earth, a terrifying twister can be whipped up with ease. Along with tidal waves, killer lightning, instant freezes, the list goes on. If science fiction has taught us one thing over the years, it’s that it rarely pays to play God.

#10: Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004)

Right from the title we know we’re more specifically dealing with hurricanes in this TV 2-parter. But suffice to say there’s a decent share of swirling vortices, too. First Las Vegas finds itself in the path of devastation, and then Chicago. “Day of Destruction” is ultimately about the merging of three bizarre weather events over Chicago - including strong winds, a heatwave and a cold snap. The science behind the drama is perhaps a little questionable, and yet drama it certainly delivers. And tornadoes are an ever-present, looming threat. One of the key side characters even goes by the name Tornado Tommy.

#9: X2 (2003)

While the twenty-first century has seen a fair flurry of superhero movies, not many have managed to get the weather right. With Storm in “X-Men”, though, it’s total climatological control. In this memorable scene from the second film in the franchise, she manages to shake-off a couple of pursuing fighter jets by mustering up a whirlwind or two. At the time, this was cutting edge, never-before-seen visual effects. The gray and heavy clouds make for a tense (if brief) battle, all channeled through Storm’s mutant mind. When the sky finally breaks, you really know you’ve been on a ride.

#8: Mad Max Fury Road (2015)

So the tornadoes are more just one element of the wider sandstorm, here. But, nevertheless, they play their part in a high-octane scene that certainly is destructive. Intent on shaking off her manic pursuers, Furiosa drives the Rig right into the heart of total, fiery chaos. With scorching cyclones all around, the chase is whittled down until it’s just her versus Nux - with Max carried along for the ride. The storm is so massive that, once you're inside, you realize it’s really multiple storms combined. All of which makes for what’s perhaps one of modern cinema’s greatest scenes - complete with some memorably killer lines from Nux.

#7: Take Shelter (2011)

While, for most tornado movies it’s all about the immediate and relentless force of the storm itself, “Take Shelter” takes a more psychological route. Michael Shannon’s Curtis LaForche is plagued by endless visions of a coming apocalypse. Throughout the film we see what he sees during dreams and premonitions, and tornadoes are never far from his mind’s eye. In this instance, it’s the lurking threat of the storm that proves most destructive. Curtis is inescapably caught in an overbearing life obsession to build a doomsday shelter that might one day save him and his family. But the kicker is that, at the movie’s close, his paranoia appears justified.

#6: Sharknado (2013)

It’s rare that a movie delivers exactly what its title promises, but “Sharknado” is nothing if not direct. The cyclones cutting their path through this unique premise are all united in one thing - they carry killer sharks. In totally turning its back on realism, this now-cult movie asks; what if the deadliest of deep sea predators could also ride along on storms? The results are total chaos. Undeniably absurd, unapologetically silly… but still pretty darn destructive chaos. For those who favor a subtler story, or halfway decent CGI, perhaps this one isn’t for you. But, for everyone else, it’s proof of one of the more simple rules for movie-making; everything's better with sharks.

#5: The Wizard of Oz (1939)

In terms of outright fame, few can beat this legendary storm at the beginning of “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a tornado apparently powerful enough to transport Dorothy and Toto to an all new world, and the scene itself sure delivers the drama. With Dorothy too late to safely shelter in the storm bunker with the rest of her family, she’s forced to hide out in the house. A window smashes, she falls to the bed… and the rest is cinematic history. The house is captured by the storm, Dorothy watches as the world passes by her window, until suddenly, finally, she’s brought back down to Earth. And Oz awaits, right outside her door.

#4: Places in the Heart (1984)

There’s a lot going on in this critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning drama, and it could never be described singularly as a ‘tornado movie’. But the storm scene at the midway point is vital. With Sally Field, Danny Glover and John Malkovich in leading roles, there’s rising panic in every moment. The family just about manages to stay together, crowding into the shelter in the nick of time, but there are plenty of hairy moments. And, there’s a real sense of the physical strain involved in battling against the conditions. When the dust finally settles, the scenes of the demolished farmyard are heartbreaking.

#3: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

The superstorms at the heart of this movie are essentially like nothing else humankind has ever witnessed. And, once again, the tornadoes make for some of the best and most memorable moments. Here, they erupt all over LA, ripping through the city and catching everyone unawares. The iconic Hollywood sign gets destroyed, the high-rises get ripped down, the airport’s hit, newsmen get killed, and vehicles are sent flying. And when the many smaller tornadoes merge into bigger, and bigger storms, well, it’s only the very lucky who make it out alive.

#2: Into the Storm (2014)

It’s almost graduation day at a local high school, and what better way to celebrate than by running for your lives from a series of deadly weather events? There are tornadoes and firenadoes in “Into the Storm”, as the locals in an Oklahoma town must struggle to survive. While the script was in parts criticized upon release, there’s no doubting the effects, and there’s more than one epic scene. Perhaps the most notable though is when one character, a stormchaser named Pete, meets his fate to the last (and largest) tornado of all. His inside view of the spectacle is a real moment of terrible beauty.

#1: Twister (1996)

Every so often a movie comes along to not only define a genre, but to essentially create it. “Twister” is probably that movie for tornadoes, at least in the mainstream. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton lead us through a series of gradually intensifying storms, until the big one at Twister’s climax - the F5. There’s serious jeopardy here as, not only are the intrepid storm chasers risking their lives, but they need to also successfully deploy the last remaining prototype of a weather-sensor that could change the world. Over the course of the film they’ve already destroyed three of the machines, so the closing act is their final gamble. And it’s a gamble that takes them right into the tornado’s core, and to the very edge between life and death.

Which is your favorite movie tornado of all time? As always, be sure to let us know!