Ugh, learned that lesson the hard way too. My brilliant idea was to just hit it with a tiger torch for ten minutes. The thermal shock made a sound like a gunshot and we had to chase shrapnel across the shop floor. Now I'm a full hour pre-heat convert, no shortcuts.
Ever wonder if the metal's thickness changes how bad that shock is? Like maybe thin stuff just warps, but thick plate builds up crazy stress until it lets go all at once. Makes me think a quick temp check with a gun before welding could save a lot of trouble.