TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - Predicting exactly where a tornado might strike is no easy feat, but meteorologists can typically pick out areas in which the environment will be favorable for the development of tornadoes, sometimes up to a week in advance.However, until Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma was struck by an unusual pair of twisters in less than a week in March 1948, no such forecast indicating the potential for tornadoes had ever been made in America.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERThat's when two Air Force meteorologists, Maj.
Ernest Fawbush and Capt. Robert Miller, were stationed at the air base on Oklahoma City's southeastern side.Miller was on duty the evening of March 20, 1948, when he issued a warning for the base to alert everyone that 35-mph wind gusts were on the way, though he didn't mention the possibility of thunderstorms.
So, he settled in for what he thought would be a quiet and uneventful night of weather.Maj. Ernest Fawbush (left) and Capt. Robert Miller (right) are photographed forecasting tornado activity at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. (Air Force photo courtesy of Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center History Office) But it was far from quiet.