From: Louis Corlin <lvcorlin@nasa.gov>
To: Randall Littleton <rmlittleton@nasa.gov>, Anthony Stanislawski <aystanislawski@nasa.gov>
Thanks for letting me take a look at your essay on the history of solar storm forecasting. One of the quickest ways to expand it is to dig into the history of the terminology, which derives directly from the nomenclature of tornado forecasting. It may seem unbelievable, but until the late 1940’s the National Weather Service banned the use of the word tornado in forecasts, believing it would spur panic. Only after an Air Force base was caught by surprise and a large number of aircraft were destroyed did this policy change.
I can also give you some specifics on radio procedure related to the on-air announcement of watches and warnings. Let me know if you’d like me to put you in contact with someone in the news department.