Your Weather Questions Answered What is the early history of forecasting tornados? Print Story Published: 4/07/2008 2:25 pm Share Updated: 4/07/2008 2:26 pm With the amount of devastation a tornado can cause, it is hard to believe there was a time when meteorologists were not allowed to mention them in their forecasts.  Before 1938, there was a ban on using the word “tornado” in forecasts, fearing it would panic the public. Even after this ban was lifted, very few forecasters would even mention them because little was known about tornadoes and how they formed.  Then, in 1948 a significant step was made in tornado forecasting. Two Air Force weather officers, E.J. Fawbush and C. Miller, successfully predicted a tornado at Tinker A.F.B. This led the U.S. Weather Bureau to begin training forecasters on tornado prediction.  Finally, in 1952 the first public tornado forecast was issued. This group of forecasters became known as the Severe Weather Unit. Now, severe weather outlooks are given by the Storm Prediction Center. Print Story Share Categories Your Weather Questions Answered Snow Wind & Wind Chill Thunderstorms Optical Effects Weather Forecasting WHAM Weather Book Read It Online Download PDFs: Color | B&W