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Netflix’s Twister: Caught in the Storm takes a hard look back at the 2011 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri. It was an EF-5 storm and the strongest kind. On May 22 that year, the twister touched down, and within minutes, the city was in ruins.
The documentary leans into the human side of the disaster. Survivors tell their stories. Footage taken in real time pulls viewers straight into the chaos. The storm built fast and moved even faster. It swept east across the city at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
By the time it was over, close to 7500 buildings were damaged or destroyed. The entire devastation unfolded in under sixty minutes. Twister: Caught in the Storm doesn’t just show what happened. It lets you feel what it was like to be there when everything changed.
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What is The Twister: Caught in the Storm all about?
Twister: Caught in the Storm is a Netflix documentary that revisits the EF-5 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, through the eyes of young residents who lived through it.
Directed by Alexandra Lacey, the film uses survivor interviews, on-ground footage, and archival material to detail how a typical spring day turned into one of the most devastating weather events in U.S. history. The tornado struck just hours after the high school graduation ceremony, with several featured individuals recounting how the celebration turned into chaos within minutes.
The documentary follows people like Mac Wright and Kaylee Parker, who were caught in the tornado after a party, and Steven Weersing, a teenager who was swept up in the storm and later survived a rare fungal infection, according to GameRant, March 21, 2025. Viewers also hear from Cecil Cornish, a high school student who helped customers take shelter during the tornado’s impact.
The tornado reached wind speeds of over 200 mph and cut a 22-mile path, killing 158 people and injuring more than 1,000, as per USA Today, March 20, 2025. Twister: Caught in the Storm captures not just the destruction but also the personal stories that shaped Joplin’s collective memory of that day.
How big was the tornado in Joplin, Missouri?
On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. It was the highest rating possible on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Winds reached over 200 miles per hour, and at one point, the twister stretched nearly a mile across. The storm stayed on the ground for 22 miles.
Thirteen of those miles tore right through the heart of the city. Homes vanished. Schools crumbled. Businesses were leveled. Even the hospital took a direct hit. According to USA Today on March 20, 2025, it was devastating on a massive scale.
At the time, what was the population of Joplin, Missouri, in 2011?
Back then, around 50,000 people lived in Joplin. The storm hit during a moment that should have been a celebration. High school graduation had just wrapped up. Families were still together. According to Paste Magazine March 18, 2025, many didn’t expect the tornado to be so intense, even though the National Weather Service had already spotted debris rising over 10,000 feet into the air.
Was the Joplin tornado an F5?
Yes, it was confirmed to be an EF-5. Meteorologists based that on the wind speeds and the scale of the destruction. Twister: Caught in the Storm explains it in detail. Survivor stories and raw footage bring to life how one storm turned a regular Sunday into a tragic day.
How many people were missing due to the Joplin tornado?
In the immediate aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, hundreds of residents were reported missing as search and rescue operations stretched across the devastated city.
While the confirmed death toll settled at 158, as per USA Today March 20, 2025, the number of missing fluctuated during the early recovery phase due to widespread displacement, communication breakdowns, and destroyed infrastructure.
A particularly severe case involved the Greenbriar nursing home, where 11 people were confirmed dead, and one resident remained unaccounted for, as reported by the Associated Press on May 25, 2011. Bill Mitchell, who operated the facility, stated they were “hopeful the missing resident would be found in another facility,” though communication challenges made tracking displaced individuals extremely difficult.
According to The Associated Press March 23, 2025, phone outages and lost records further complicated identification efforts, especially for vulnerable populations such as dementia patients. Some bodies, like that of high school graduate Will Norton, were only recovered days later, adding to the uncertainty around final numbers.
The Netflix documentary Twister: Caught in the Storm revisits these unresolved moments and highlights how chaos, scattered survivors, and infrastructure collapse left families in limbo, searching for answers in the storm’s aftermath.
The aftermath of Joplin Tornado
The EF-5 tornado that tore through Joplin on May 22, 2011, caused widespread destruction and left a lasting impact on the community. The official death toll stood at 158, with over 1,000 injured and approximately 9,200 displaced, as reported by USA Today on March 20, 2025.
According to The Associated Press report from March 23, 2025, the storm damaged or destroyed nearly 8,000 buildings, including homes, schools, and St. John’s Regional Medical Center, which had to be demolished the following year due to severe structural damage.
In the Netflix documentary Twister: Caught in the Storm, survivors recount personal accounts of the devastation. One story follows Steven Weersing, who survived being swept into the storm and later contracted a rare flesh-eating fungus, as reported by Cinemablend on March 22, 2025. Others, like high schooler Cecil Cornish and storm chaser Mac Wright, reflected on the chaos and moments of courage during the event.
The city’s recovery took years, but as shown in Twister: Caught in the Storm, the community's resilience became part of its legacy.
Twister: Caught in the Storm is currently streaming on Netflix.
