To paraphrase dotty Aunt Pittypat in Gone With the Wind: “Tornados in Atlanta! How did they get in?”

Yes, it was a quite a time in Georgia’s capital city last weekend. Across the country, for that matter.

One, and quite possibly two tornadoes stormed through my hometown like Sherman having a hissy fit. Elsewhere there were snow storms, sleet, hail, pillars of fire (well, I’m not certain about that last one).

Natural disasters are, of course, naturals for the movies. All that action and destruction and special effects. Here are some you may remember - or even want to rent - on a less-than-sunny day.

• The Wizard of Oz — Probably the first twister many of us ever saw. After an $8,000 thirty-five-foot rubber cone failed (it wouldn’t, well, twist), a plain old muslin wind sock did the trick.
• Twister — Proof that CGI minus imagination makes for a lot of empty wind. About the only thing it has in common with the wondrous Wizard is both pictures used Cairn Terriers.
• Volcano and Dante’s Peak - Both came out in 1997, proving, yet again, Hollywood has about as much creativity as a flood of molten lava. 1935’s The Last Days of Pompeii is much better, with effects by Willis O’Brien, the same guy who did King Kong.
• The Hurricane - Also from the 1930s. Mary Astor, Dorothy Lamour and a miniature village.
• San Francisco - Apparently the earthquake effects were so real a few of the extras fled the studio.
• The Perfect Storm - George Clooney at sea.
• Days of Heaven - One word: locusts.
• Bound For Glory - The unforgettable dust storm that envelops Depression-era Texas and sends Woody Guthrie (David Carradine) on the road.