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Concept
Tornado warning
Summary
A tornado warning (SAME code: TOR) is a public warning that is issued to an area in the direct path of a tornado or a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. They are issued by weather forecasting agencies in some countries when an actual tornado or signs of a developing tornado, such as a funnel cloud or wall cloud, are reported by weather spotters, the public, or detected by weather radar.
A warning should not be confused with a tornado watch, issued in the United States by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and in other countries by applicable regional forecasting agencies or national severe weather guidance centers, which only indicates that conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes. Although a tornado warning is generally a higher alert level than a tornado watch, in the U.S., it can be surpassed by a higher-level alert—structured as wording that can be added to the official warning product—to warn the public of intense tornadoes affecting a densely populated area.
A tornado watch is not required for a warning to be issued; tornado warnings are occasionally issued when a tornado watch is not active (i.e. when a severe thunderstorm watch is active, or when no watches are in effect), if a severe thunderstorm develops and has a confirmed tornado or strong rotation.
1948 Tinker Air Force Base tornadoes
The first official tornado forecast—and tornado warning—was made by United States Air Force Capt. (later Col.) Robert C. Miller and Major Ernest Fawbush, on March 25, 1948. The first such forecast came after the events that occurred five days earlier on March 20, 1948; Miller – a California native who became stationed at Tinker Air Force Base three weeks earlier – was assigned to work the late shift as a forecaster for the base's Air Weather Service office that evening, analyzing U.S. Weather Bureau surface maps and upper-air charts that failed to note atmospheric instability and moisture content present over Oklahoma that would be suitable for producing thunderstorm activity, erroneously forecasting dry conditions for that night.
Official source
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