This is a list of all tornadoes that were confirmed by the National Climatic Data Center in the United States from January to March 1982. During this period, 81 tornadoes touched down across 23 states, resulting in 7 fatalities and numerous injuries. The strongest of these storms was an F4 in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles on March 18. Activity greatly varied between the three months, with January being above average, February at record low levels and March around average. Aside from two notable outbreaks, tornado events were sporadic and scattered across the country. More than half of the 60 tornadoes in March occurred during a single outbreak from March 14 to 17.

United States yearly total

January

+ January 1982 tornadoes Date State F# County Coord. Path length Comments/Damage January 3, 1982 Mississippi F3Newton1 death – First killer January tornado since 1978. Along the tornado's path, 20 homes were destroyed and 40 structures were damaged. Seventeen people sustained injuries. Total damage from the tornado reached $2 million.Grazulis, p. 628 Location was the Newton, Mississippi area. Alabama F2Chilton, CoosaFive mobile homes and two gas station were destroyed near southeast of Clanton, Alabama near Lake Mitchell. Originally believed to be two separate tornadoes, later analysis found that the tornado had an intermittent track through two counties. F2Autauga, ChiltonIn Lily Hill, southeast of Clanton, Alabama, a house was blown away, injuring four occupants. The tornado tracked over the same area the previous one did, forcing rescuers to take shelter. A total of six people were injured by the tornado. F1AutaugaBrief tornado touched down near Interstate 65 southeast of Clanton, Alabama, downing trees and power lines. Four cars sustained damage from debris. F1ChiltonBrief tornado in the Clanton, Alabama area injured four people. F2CullmanBrief touchdown near Simcoe, Alabama; a gas station, mini-mart and trailer were destroyed. F2MarshallTornado touched down along Alabama State Route 69 northeast of Arab, Alabama and tore the roof off a home. One person was injured. F1MonroeBrief touchdown near Monroeville, Alabama. Arkansas F0LeeBrief touchdown east-northeast of Marianna, Arkansas. F1PhillipsBrief touchdown in Helena, Arkansas. January 4, 1982 Georgia F1CherokeeBrief touchdown northeast of Cherokee County Airport near Georgia State Route 515.January 7, 1982 Alabama F1HoustonBrief touchdown near Cowarts, Alabama. January 14, 1982 Florida F1LeeBrief touchdown near Lehigh Acres, Florida. Several homes were damaged along the tornado's path, leaving $300,000 in losses. F0HendryBrief touchdown east-northeast of Lehigh Acres, Florida. January 20, 1982 California F0RiversideBrief touchdown in downtown Riverside, California. The tornado felled several trees, tore the roof off a home and injured one person. January 22, 1982 Arkansas F2GarlandSmall tornado struck Hot Springs, Arkansas, damaging several homes and injuring one person. January 23, 1982Mississippi F1LauderdaleBrief tornado touched down southeast of Collinsville, Mississippi. January 30, 1982 Louisiana F2AssumptionBrief tornado touched southwest of Paincourtville, Louisiana. One person was injured by the tornado.

February

+ February 1982 tornadoes Date State F# County Coord. Path length Comments/Damage February 11, 1982 Hawaii F2HonoluluBrief tornado touched down south of Waimānalo, Hawai'i. Occurred simultaneously with the Maunawili tornado. Nearly 24 homes sustained damage. F2 HonoluluBrief tornado touched down near Maunawili, Hawai'i. Occurred simultaneously with the Waimānalo tornado. February 17, 1982 Florida F1ManateeBrief tornado touched down near Palmetto, Florida, damaging 12 mobile homes and a lumber yard. One home had its roof torn off and thrown away. Losses in the lumber yard were estimated at $30,000 to $50,000.

March

+ March 1982 tornadoes Date State F# County Coord. Path length Comments/Damage March 6, 1982 Florida F0PinellasBrief tornado touched down in St. Petersburg, Florida. F1Miami-DadeRoughly 100 homes and 500 vehicles sustained damage in Kendall, Florida. Four people were injured in the city. Losses from the tornado were estimated over $500,000. F1HighlandsBrief tornado touched down north-northwest of Lake Placid, Florida. March 7, 1982 Florida F1VolusiaBrief tornado touched down east of DeLeon Springs, Florida, downing trees and power lines. A few homes sustained damage from flying debris. March 12, 1982 Illinois F2McDonoughBrief tornado touched down south of Macomb, Illinois, injuring one person. March 13, 1982 Ohio F1FairfieldBrief tornado touched down south of Lancaster, Ohio. Twelve outbuildings and one home were destroyed. March 14, 1982 Texas F1TaylorA restaurant in Buffalo Gap, Texas, was heavily damaged. F2Runnels, TaylorFirst of two tornadoes that struck near Winters, Texas (north-northeast), this tornado moving toward Lawn, Texas. Five homes, a swath of farmland and an oil derrick were destroyed along its path. F3Runnels, Coleman, Taylor, CallahanSecond tornado that passed near Winters, Texas, toward east of Lawn, Texas. Several barns and farming equipment were destroyed in this area. The community of Goldsboro sustained significant damage; one home was mostly destroyed in this area. The tornado also flattened an oil rig. A section of asphalt was torn off Highway 382. Fourteen people were injured by the tornado. Total losses reached $3 million. F1Callahan, EastlandShort-lived tornado touched down near Cross Plains, Texas. F1DallasA brief tornado damaged 18 homes in the Dallas suburb of Duncanville, Texas. March 15, 1982Alabama F1CalhounAlexandria, Alabama area Kansas F2GreenwoodBrief tornado damaged 25 cabins and trailers north-northwest of Fall River, Kansas. F2Woodson, AllenLong-tracked tornado damaged numerous homes, however, specifics are unknown. Southeast of Toronto, Kansas to Colony, Kansas F3Montgomery1 death – One person was killed and another injured when the tornado destroyed their trailer. Intensity is disputed to be F2 rather than F3 by Grazulis. In the Tyro, Kansas area. F1Montgomery F2Labette, CrawfordRelatively long-tracked tornado destroyed two trailers and damaged several other homes. Three people were injured in the trailers. F3Crawford, Barton (MO), Vernon (MO), Cedar (MO), St. Clair (MO)2 deaths – 8 others injured F3Labette, Cherokee1 death – 6 others injured F0Cherokee F3Crawford, Jasper (MO) Oklahoma F1Seminole F3Pontotoc1 death – 36 others injured F2Hughes F2Osage1 person injured F1Osage F1Washington F2Washington57 people injured F2Nowata F2Nowata F1Haskell Missouri F3Benton1 person injured F2Morgan F1Moniteau F0CallawayLong-tracked weak tornado March 16, 1982 Kentucky F2Clark, PowellA tornado destroyed eight homes and many outbuildings along its path from Trapp, Kentucky, to Black Creek, Kentucky. Two people were injured. Indiana F1Wells, Adams March 17, 1982 Georgia F0FultonBrief tornado struck downtown Atlanta, Georgia, just south of the Georgia Institute of Technology. One office building sustained some exterior damage. California F0San DiegoSmall tornado briefly touched down along the southeast end of San Diego International Airport's runway. March 18, 1982 Hawaii F2HonoluluBrief tornado touched down near Wahiawā, Hawai'i. Kansas F2Seward Northwest of Liberal, Kansas. F2Haskell, GraySatanta area to Cimarron area New Mexico F0CurryBrief tornado touched down northeast of Clovis, New Mexico. Texas F4Moore, Hansford, Ochiltree, Beaver (OK)Long-lived wide tornado tracked through the northern Texas Panhandle into the Oklahoma Panhandle shortly before midnight (local time), starting near Sunray, Texas and ending near Beaver, Oklahoma. At least 12 farms in Hansford County and four homes in Beaver County were destroyed. Twelve people were injured by the tornado and losses exceeded $1 million.Grazulis, p. 629 March 19, 1982 Iowa F1Taylor March 20, 1982 Tennessee F1Sumner Northeast of Portland, Tennessee Kentucky F2Shelby8 people injured. In Shelbyville, Kentucky area. F2Shelby, Franklin South-southeast of Shelbyville, Kentucky to Frankfort, Kentucky Arkansas F0LincolnBrief tornado touched down near or on the Arkansas River north of Grady, Arkansas. March 28, 2018 California F1Fresno1 person injured. In the Selma, California area. March 29, 1982Florida F1Palm Beach1 person injured in the Lake Worth, Florida area. Utah F0BeaverFirst March tornado in Utah since 1907, touched down well to the northeast of Milford, Utah. California F0Alameda In Livermore, California area. F1Los Angeles In San Gabriel, California area. South Dakota F2BennettTouched down west of Martin, South Dakota. A mobile home was picked up by the tornado and one of its occupants was thrown out of the building; however, he was unharmed. The other person in the home sustained minor injuries. March 30, 1982 Wisconsin F1Juneau, Wood, PortageLong-lived intermittent tornado made several touchdowns along a path through central Wisconsin, from southeast of Nekoosa, Wisconsin to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Numerous trees were felled by the tornado, one of which fell on a mobile home and destroyed it. The two occupants of the home sustained extensive injuries. Nearby, another mobile home was destroyed and a house was moved off its foundation. Due to the intermittent nature of the tornado, newspaper reports initially stated it to have been a series of tornadoes rather than a single one. Illinois F2Jefferson1 death – Short-lived but damaging tornado touched down near Ina, Illinois. Five trailers and four homes were destroyed, one of which was blown off its foundation and thrown into another. Sixteen other homes and several trailers sustained damage. Three people were also injured and losses were estimated at $1 million. F1HamiltonBrief tornado touched down east-southeast of Mayberry, Illinois. March 31, 1982 Louisiana F1WashingtonTornado touched down due west of Angie, Louisiana and tracked eastward for before dissipating. No known damage took place during the tornado's existence. Ohio F2KnoxBrief tornado destroyed four homes and heavily damaged seven others in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Seven people were injured in the town. The tornado was roughly wide and struck less than three hours after a statewide tornado drill. According to residents, there was no warning issued before the tornado struck. In the wake of the tornado, 15 national guardsmen were deployed to patrol the area and prevent vandalism.

References

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