<P> 27 years later in the present day in March 1996 , 32 - year - old Jo ( Helen Hunt ) , now a meteorologist , is reunited with her estranged husband , Bill `` The Extreme '' Harding ( Bill Paxton ) , a former weather researcher and storm chaser , who has since become a weather reporter . He has a brand new Dodge Ram pickup truck and is planning to marry sex therapist Melissa Reeves ( Jami Gertz ) . They need Jo 's signature on the divorce papers and have tracked her down during an active bout of stormy weather . Jo has built four identical tornado research devices called DOROTHY , based on Bill 's designs . The device is designed to release hundreds of sensors into the center of a tornado to study its structure from the inside , with the purpose of creating a more advanced storm warning system . Bill and Melissa join Jo and her team of storm chasers , and the team encounters Dr. Jonas Miller ( Cary Elwes ) , a smug , corporate - funded meteorologist and storm chaser . When Bill discovers that Jonas has created a device based on DOROTHY , called DOT - 3 , he vows to help Jo deploy DOROTHY before Miller can claim credit for the idea . The team receives news that an F1 tornado is forming not too far away so they get inside the vehicles . </P>
<P> 27 years later in the present day in March 1996 , 32 - year - old Jo ( Helen Hunt ) , now a meteorologist , is reunited with her estranged husband , Bill `` The Extreme '' Harding ( Bill Paxton ) , a former weather researcher and storm chaser , who has since become a weather reporter . He has a brand new Dodge Ram pickup truck and is planning to marry sex therapist Melissa Reeves ( Jami Gertz ) . They need Jo 's signature on the divorce papers and have tracked her down during an active bout of stormy weather . Jo has built four identical tornado research devices called DOROTHY , based on Bill 's designs . The device is designed to release hundreds of sensors into the center of a tornado to study its structure from the inside , with the purpose of creating a more advanced storm warning system . Bill and Melissa join Jo and her team of storm chasers , and the team encounters Dr. Jonas Miller ( Cary Elwes ) , a smug , corporate - funded meteorologist and storm chaser . When Bill discovers that Jonas has created a device based on DOROTHY , called DOT - 3 , he vows to help Jo deploy DOROTHY before Miller can claim credit for the idea . The team receives news that an F1 tornado is forming not too far away so they get inside the vehicles . </P>
who played bill paxton 's fiance in twister
who played bill paxton 's fiance in twister
Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz