Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Flying cows, SUVs soaring through the air like toys, quaint towns that are virtually wiped off the map. Hollywood certainly makes the very real world of chasing tornadoes appear exciting on the big screen. And yet the reality of storm chasing is actually slower, less competitive, more methodical, and not nearly as deadly as Twister or Twisters make it appear. “My whole setup for a single chase is longer than most tornado movies are,” meteorologist and storm chaser Cyrena Arnold tells Popular Science . Every spring and summer, thousands of meteorologists like Arnold, alongside hobbyists and weather tourists alike, chase tornadoes. Roughly 5,000 people from around the world travel to the Great Plains to chase storms every year. On the ground, it’s a mixture of exhilaration, solid planning, teamwork, and some difficult math. It’s also the chance to make a major real-life impact.…