The 1980 United States heat wave was a period of intense heat and drought that wreaked havoc on much of the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and Southern Plains throughout the summer of 1980. It was among the most destructive, and most lethal natural disasters in U.S. history, claiming at least 1,700 lives. Because of the massive

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

, agricultural damage reached US$20.0 billion (equivalent to $ billion in dollars). It is among the billion-dollar weather disasters listed by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...

Causes

The heat wave began in June when a strong

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

pressure

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

began to build in the central and southern United States allowing temperatures to soar to almost every day from June to September. The high pressure system also acted as a cap on the atmosphere inhibiting the development of

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

activity, leading to exceptionally severe drought conditions. The heat wave paused briefly when the decaying Hurricane Allen disrupted the prevailing weather pattern.

Effects

The drought and heat wave conditions led many Midwestern cities to experience record heat. In

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, the high temperature was below 90°F (32°C) only twice and soared above the century mark () for 17 days straight; in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, the temperature reached an all-time high of on July 13, 1980, part of a 15-day stretch of temperatures above that lasted from July 6 to 20. In

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

on July 15, the temperature reached for the first time since 1954. In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, high temperatures exceeded a total of 69 times, including a record 42 consecutive days from June 23 to August 3, of which 28 days were above 105, and five days above 110. The area saw 29 days in which the previous record high temperature was either broken or tied, including its all-time high when the temperature hit on three consecutive days (June 26 and 27 at DFW Airport and June 28 at Dallas Love Field). Some 43% of American homes were without air conditioning in 1980. Hurricane Allen briefly paused the heat wave in early August. The 2011 North American heat wave would ultimately surpass the 1980 heat wave in terms of number of days with highs exceeding 100 (with 71 days) and the highest-ever low temperature for a single day (86 degrees); however, that heat wave only had 40 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 100 (two short of the record) and the 113 degrees of 1980 remains a DFW all-time high. The high temperatures of the 1980 heat wave were worse than 2011, as was its early start in June and its ultimate human toll. On the northern rim of the high pressure ridge, several severe long-lived windstorms called

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from es, derecho, link=no , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos can cause hurri ...

s formed. The most notable was the " More Trees Down Derecho" that occurred on July 5. It raced from eastern

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

in 15 hours, killing six and injuring about 70. The Western Wisconsin Derecho of July 15 killed three, and caused extensive property damage.

Causes

Effects

See also

References

Further reading