 Damage to United States Air Force B29 bombers from the March 20, 1948, tornado | |
| Formed | March 20 and 25, 1948 |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes confirmed | 2 |
| Max. rating1 | F3 tornado |
| Fatalities | Several injuries |
| Damage | $16 million [1] (1948) ($203 million 2023) |
| Areas affected | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The 1948 Tinker Air Force Base tornadoes were two tornadoes which struck Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on March 20 and 25, 1948. Both are estimated to have been equivalent to F3 in intensity on the modern Fujita scale of tornado intensity,[2] which was not devised until 1971.[3] The March 20 tornado was the costliest tornado in Oklahoma history at the time.[4] On March 25, meteorologists at the base noticed the extreme similarity between the weather conditions of that day and March 20, and later in the day issued a "tornado forecast", which was verified when a tornado struck the base that evening. This was the first official tornado forecast, as well as the first successful tornado forecast, in recorded history.[1]
- ^ a b Grice, G. K.; Trapp, R. J.; Corfidi, S. F.; Davies-Jones, R.; Buonanno, C. C.; Craven, J. P.; Droegemeier, K. K.; Duchon, C.; Houghton, J. V.; Prentice, R. A.; Romine, G.; Schlachter, K.; Wagner, K. K. (July 1999). "The Golden Anniversary Celebration of the First Tornado Forecast" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 80 (7). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 1341–1348. Bibcode:1999BAMS...80.1341G. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1999)080<1341:TGACOT>2.0.CO;2. S2CID 123670476. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
- ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 935
- ^ Grazulis 2001, p. 131
- ^ Branick, Michael L. (December 22, 2008). "Tornadoes in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area Since 1890". Norman, Oklahoma: National Weather Service. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2009.