When the First Tornado Forecast Emerged Amidst Aircraft Destruction

Send us Fan MailImagine a world where the word "tornado" is banned from public weather announcements and tornadoes are considered unforecastable. This was not Bizzaro World, but the United States of America in the 1940s. It was thought the the mere word, tornado, would cause panic and the mass hysteria would cause more death than the tornado itself. Meanwhile, U.S. Air Force weather forecasters were laying the ground work for the first tornado forecast after two tornadoes in five days tore across an Air Force base near Oklahoma City, OK. These two tornadoes were responsible for damaging or destroying more than 200 aircraft. Join Radar Contact Lost to learn about the two Air Force forecasters who created the world's first tornado forecast and the Air Force general who spurred them on. Learn why the U.S. Weather Bureau would not issue tornado forecasts and why they prevented Air Force tornado forecasts from reaching the public, and learn how the Air Force is preventing massive destruction such as the damage caused by the Twin Tornadoes of 1948. While you're listening, learn a little about Tornado Alley and even a little bit of tornado safety.