Tornadoes of 1980

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1980, 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
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.

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, resulting in two fatalities. On March 1, an F3 tornado in Pompano Beach, Florida killed one and injured 33.

April
There were 137 tornadoes in the US in April, resulting in four fatalities. On April 2, an F4 tornado struck Baylor County, Texas but resulted in no injuries.

May
There were 203 tornadoes in the US in May, resulting in eight fatalities.

May 13
The Kalamazoo Tornado of 1980 struck downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 13, 1980. The tornado, which touched down at 4:09 pm, was rated F3 on the Fujita scale. The tornado killed 5 people and injured 79. Damage was estimated at 50,000,000 dollars

June
There were 217 tornadoes in the US in June, resulting in seven fatalities. On June 29, an F2 tornado in Harford County, Maryland moved onto the Aberdeen Proving Ground resulting in no fatalities, but 10 people were injured.

June 3
The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak, also known as The Night of the Twisters, affected the city of Grand Island, Nebraska on June 3, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that night, killing five and injuring 200. The highest rated tornado was a F4

July
There were 95 tornadoes in the US in July, resulting in five fatalities. On July 9, an F4 tornado killed two and injured 25 in Rush County, Indiana. Three more people were killed in separate tornadoes in Wisconsin on July 15th.

August
There were 73 tornadoes in the US in August.

September
There were 37 tornadoes in the US in September, resulting in one fatality from an F3 tornado in St. Cloud, Minnesota on September 3.

October
There were 43 tornadoes in the US in October, resulting in one fatality.

November
There were 3 tornadoes in the US in November.

December
There were 2 tornadoes in the US in December.