From April 9–11, 1947, a significant tornado outbreak produced catastrophic effects over portions of the southern Great Plains, in the contiguous United States.

However, an approaching warm front—then extended from Sherman, Texas, to Raton, New Mexico—would later combine with a robust trough aloft to enhance conditions for severe weather.

In tandem with this, a low-pressure area over northeastern New Mexico, along with an attendant dry line, would gradually eject, leading to stronger low-level wind shear and more pronounced lapse rates.

As it did so, however, an unexpected decrease in cloud cover allowed for greater-than-expected diurnal heating, leading to a substantial rise in atmospheric instability and associated buoyancy.

[2] By 6:30 p.m. CST (00:30 UTC), the low-pressure center was situated over southern Colorado, and a 53-to-61-mile-per-hour (85 to 98 km/h) jet stream existed 4,000 to 7,000 ft (1,200 to 2,100 m; 1.2 to 2.1 km) above sea level.

Mixed-layer convective inhibition by then had decreased, offsetting the loss of helicity, and the presence of the warm front acted in concert with the aforementioned factors to favor supercells capable of generating strong tornadoes.

A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991.

[5][nb 2] 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments.

Many homes and businesses were leveled or swept away, and as the tornado struck the town's power plant, a 20-tonne (20,000 kg) steel boiler tank was lofted and thrown a block and a half.

[24] A US Weather Bureau report on the Woodward, Oklahoma Tornado of April 9, 1947, gives the following figures on the damage caused in its "Original Summary" section.