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Tornadoes of 1988

Wikipedia list article

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ7826028 ↗
Source-derived summary

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1988, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.

Synopsis

1988 was one of the least active tornado seasons on record. March and April saw unusually low activity, as did June. There were some notable outbreaks later in the year, including the Raleigh tornado which was probably the most publicized tornado event of the year.

Events

Confirmed tornado total for the entire year 1988 in the United States.

January

There were 17 tornadoes confirmed in the US in January.

January 19

A deadly outbreak spawned 14 tornadoes. Three separate tornadoes, rated F2/F3, killed five people in Tennessee, one of which killed 3 and injured 24 in Williston.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tornadoes of 1988” is wikipedia list article. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tornadoes, Wikipedia and list, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1988—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Tornadoes, Wikipedia and list is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “wikipedia list article” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7826028. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1988.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tornadoes of 1988”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tornadoes of 1988 primary sources, Tornadoes of 1988 archive and Tornadoes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tornadoes of 1988”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Tornadoes of 1988” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.