This page documents the

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es and

tornado outbreak __NOTOC__ A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...

s of 1980, primarily in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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.

Events

Numbers for 1980 were below average, both in terms of number of tornadoes and number of fatalities; however, there were over 1,100 injuries related to tornadoes.

United States yearly total

January

There were 7 tornadoes in the US in January.

February

There were 11 tornadoes in the US in February.

March

There were 41 tornadoes in the US in March.

March 1

An F3 tornado struck Pompano Beach, Florida, killing one and injuring 33. This was last of only three F3/EF3 tornadoes to hit

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

with the others occurring on April 10, 1956 and February 23, 1965.

April

There were 137 tornadoes in the US in April.

April 2–4

An outbreak of 17 tornadoes struck the Great Plains, Midwest, and

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

starting with an F4 tornado that struck

Baylor County, Texas Baylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,465. Its county seat is Seymour. History In 1858, the Texas Legislature established Baylor County, naming it for Henry Weidner Baylor, ...

. Overall, the outbreak injured four.

April 5

A rare strong F2 tornado injured one in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

May

There were 203 tornadoes in the US in May.

May 13

A destructive F3 tornado tore through Downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, killing five, injuring 79, and causing an estimated at $50 million in damage. The tornado was one of four damaging tornadoes on this day. There were five fatalities and 94 injuries.

June

There were 217 tornadoes in the US in June.

June 2–3

A two-day tornado outbreak caused widespread damage from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

and

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The outbreak is best remembered for a slow-moving

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms ( ...

complex that moved across Grand Island, Nebraska, spawning seven tornadoes, three of which were

anticyclonic An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...

. The tornadoes also did not move in a straight line, with most looping back over their own path at least once. This part of the outbreak, which is also known as The Night of the Twisters, killed five and injured 200. Overall, the outbreak produced 29 tornadoes, killed six people and injured 413.

June 29

An F2 tornado in Harford County, Maryland moved onto the

Aberdeen Proving Ground Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...

, injuring 10.http://www.weather.gov/Iwx/Historic_Events/MDcnty-tornado-events.htm

July

There were 95 tornadoes in the US in July.

July 8–12

A deadly outbreak sequence of 22 tornadoes tore through the Northern United States with July 9 producing an F4 tornado that killed two and injured 25 in

Rushville, Indiana Rushville is a city in Rushville Township, Rush County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,341 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Rush County. It, like the county, was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, who signe ...

. Overall, two people were killed and 37 others were injured.

July 15–16

An intense weather system spawned a derecho that trigged the start of a two-day tornado outbreak from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, although it started with an F1 tornado in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Three people were killed in separate tornadoes in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

on July 15, with tornadoes also injuring 27 others.

August

There were 73 tornadoes in the US in August.

September

There were 37 tornadoes in the US in September.

September 3

A small, but destructive outbreak of nine tornadoes hit the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

with a deadly F3 tornado striking Downtown St. Cloud, Minnesota, killing one and injuring 15.

October

There were 43 tornadoes in the US in October.

November

There were 3 tornadoes in the US in November.

December

There were 2 tornadoes in the US in December.

References

External links

U.S. tornadoes in 1980
– Tornado History Project

{{1980 tornado outbreaks 1980 meteorology Tornado-related lists by year Torn