The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak, also known as The Night of the Twisters, was a tornado outbreak that produced a series of destructive and exceptionally erratic tornadoes that affected the city of Grand Island, Nebraska, on June 3, 1980. Seven tornadoes occurred in or near the city that night, killing five people and injuring 200.
The name generally referred to by Grand Island area residents for the event, "The Night of the Twisters", comes from the semi-fictionalized book of the same name, loosely based on the June 3, 1980 tornadoes, by author Ivy Ruckman, which in turn inspired a made-for-TV movie of the same name that premiered on The Family Channel (now Freeform) in February 1996. While the outbreak is best known for the Grand Island tornado family on June 3, the event as a whole produced 29 tornadoes across two days, causing severe damage as far east as Pennsylvania. In addition to the five deaths that occurred in the Grand Island area, the outbreak injured a total of 413 across seven states.
Outbreak description The outbreak began on June 2, producing strong tornadoes in Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio, including one that struck the east side of Indianapolis. One fatality occurred near Crawfordsville, Indiana. Tornado activity continued on June 3, with additional strong tornadoes touching down in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Nebraska. Over a span of three hours on the evening of June 3, 1980, a slow-moving supercell complex moving across Grand Island, Nebraska, spawned several tornadoes. The resulting outbreak was one of the most unusual in United States history: The supercells moved over the city at only ; of the seven tornadoes, three of them were anticyclonic; and the tornadoes did not move in a straight line, with most looping back over their own path at least once.
Confirmed tornadoes
June 2 event + List of confirmed tornadoes – Monday, June 2, 1980F#LocationCounty / ParishStateStart Coord.Time (UTC)Path lengthMax widthSummary F2SW of BelvidereThayerNE 0930 F2S of AllertonWayneIA1230Tornado struck a farm, twisting the house off its foundation and destroying several outbuildings. Six train cars were derailed and another home lost its roof. F1SW of NumaAppanooseIA1300Three people were injured. F2Cincinnati to SE of West GroveAppanoose, DavisIA1305Trees were damaged and three homes were partially unroofed. Three trailer homes were destroyed, and other homes and trailers were damaged. A Masonic Lodge was damaged as well. There were five injuries, all of which occurred in trailer homes. F2SSW of CovingtonFountainIN1800A hardware store and four homes were destroyed in Covington. F3SW of Waynetown to LadogaMontgomeryIN18001 death – High-end F3 damage and serious injuries occurred southwest of Crawfordsville. One woman was killed when her trailer was obliterated and scattered over 30 acres. Caused $2,000,000 in damage and injured 16 people. F2Northern IndianapolisMarionIN1900A high-end F2 tornado struck the east side of Indianapolis, destroying four homes and damaging a dozen others. Flying debris caused a traffic accident on I-465. Six people were injured. F2New PalestineHancockIN1930A high-end F2 tornado tore apart many homes in town and ripped the roof off of a grocery store. A high school and an elementary school were heavily damaged. Four people were injured, including a woman who was trapped in the debris of her trailer home. F0SW of RushvilleRushIN2000One person was injured. F1Wyoming to S of MadeiraHamiltonOH2105There were 15 injuries. F4Lamoni to NW of Powersville, MODecatur, WayneIA2125A long-track, violent tornado completely destroyed a farmhouse near Davis City, and unroofed a fertilizer plant. F1S of Epworth to S of PeostaDubuqueIA2320 F1Tippecanoe LakeKosciuskoIN2330One person was injured. F1SW of Oak Hill to W of PatriotJackson, Lawrence, GalliaOH2330Two homes were unroofed and seven farm buildings were destroyed near the rural community of Blackford. Grazulis lists this tornado as an F2. F1SW of Dixon, IN and OHAdamsIN0000Three people were injured. F1E of ManchesterWashtenawMI0535
June 3 event + List of confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, June 3, 1980F#LocationCounty / ParishStateStart Coord.Time (UTC)Path lengthMax widthSummaryF4NW of Harrison Township to Vandergrift to SE of Orchard HillsAllegheny, Westmoreland, Armstrong PA 1630A restaurant and two stores were severely damaged in Natrona Heights, with 12 injuries at that location. Seven homes were damaged in Vandergrift, and a trailer park in Apollo was devastated. One home was nearly leveled by this tornado. Caused $6,000,000 in damage and injured 140 people. Rated F3 by Grazulis. F2Avonmore to ClarksburgIndianaPA1705A half dozen homes, a helicopter, and three trailers were torn apart. Six people were injured. F3SE of Ridgedale, West Virginia to Oakland, MarylandMonongalia (WV), Preston (WV), Garrett (MD)WV, MD1705In West Virginia, 28 homes were destroyed and 102 others were damaged. Thirteen businesses and nine public buildings were damaged as well. Reedsville was hard hit. A mobile home park there was destroyed, and a two-year-old child was thrown nearly a mile into a field, but survived. The tornado continued into Maryland where two trailer homes were destroyed, 15 permanent homes were damaged, and 12 farms were damaged. Caused $7,000,000 in damage and 19 injuries. Most destructive West Virginia tornado since 1944. F1VincentownBurlingtonNJ2000 F2N of Dover to N of Gilberts CornerLoudounVA2000 F0N of Watford CityMcKenzieND2130 F3SW of St. Libory to Western Grand IslandHallNE0145–02341 death – Tornado touched down 11 miles northwest of Grand Island. First of seven tornadoes to hit the city in just over two hours. Farm homes outside of town were torn apart, and a woman was killed while trying to drive to a relative's house. 25 others were injured and caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages. Although the straight line (and official) path length of the tornado was only about , the actual length was over double that at because the track was highly unusual in that it looped and crossed itself numerous times, while spending 49 minutes on the ground. F1Northwestern Grand IslandHallNE0200–0212Small anticyclonic tornado briefly touched down in the northern edges of Grand Island, just east of the first tornado. Second of seven tornadoes to hit the city in just over two hours. The tornado caused an estimated $25,000 in damages and five injuries. First of three anticyclonic tornadoes. F3Grand IslandHallNE0205–02301 death – Tornado touched down north of Grand Island and moved into the city near Airport Road, between US 281 and Webb Road. Third of seven tornadoes to hit the city in just over two hours. The tornado injured 40, killed one, and caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages. Although most damage was rated F0, several homes were heavily damaged and some F3 damage was noted near the veteran's home, which had windows blown out. Second of three anticyclonic tornadoes. While the path is officially listed as , the distance covered by the tornado was due to its curving nature. F1Southeastern Grand IslandHallNE0246–0250Fourth of seven tornadoes to hit the city in just over two hours. Tornado touched down southeast of Grand Island and moved toward the southwest, west, and north. This was the last of three anticyclonic tornadoes. F4Grand IslandHallNE0316–03283 deaths – Fifth of seven tornadoes to hit the city in just over two hours. Tornado touched down just east of Grand Island, then moved west into the city. Once within the city, the tornado turned south and followed Locust Street, causing some of the most intense damage of the outbreak to businesses and neighboring residences, some of which were "obliterated". Numerous homes, vehicles, businesses, trees, and power lines were destroyed. Damages exceeded $200 million, and 110 people were injured. While the path length is listed as , the curving path of the tornado covered a distance of . Peak winds in the most intense damage areas were estimated to be at . F2SE of Grand IslandHallNE0325–0335A large tornado touched down southeast of Grand Island, causing significant damage in rural areas. Sixth of the seven tornadoes that hit Grand Island. The tornado caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages and 18 injuries. While the official track is listed at , the curving path of the tornado caused it to travel a total distance of . F1SE of Grand Island to N of Giltner Hall, HamiltonNE0400–0430A large tornado touched down southeast of Grand Island. Last of the seven tornadoes in the area. The tornado caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages and two injuries. The tornado tracked across mostly rural areas and avoided many homes. While the official track is listed at , the tornado looped numerous times, traveling a total distance of . Notable tornadoes
During the early afternoon hours of June 2, several powerful thunderstorms formed in eastern Illinois, and tracked southeastward into Indiana. These storms produced a total of five tornadoes across its track through Indiana, starting from 1:00 pm EDT, to around 3:00 pm EDT. Funnel clouds were first reported in Benton County near I-65 at 11:12 am EDT, and near Mellott in Montgomery County at 11:25 am EDT.
The first tornado touched down at around 1:00 pm EDT near the town of Covington in Fountain County. The tornado tracked into Covington at 1:05 pm EDT, and immediately demolished the top story of a hardware store. The tornado also damaged or destroyed 7 homes in town before leaving to the southeast. The tornado was last seen south of Veedersburg, paralleled to I-75. The tornado caused $5 million USD (1980) to the town of Covington, and an additional $9 million USD (1980) in rural areas. Two people were injured, with only one injury noted to be serious. The tornado was rated as F2.
The second tornado was spotted near Waynetown in the northwest parts of Montgomery County at around 1:15 pm EDT. The tornado was described as dipping up and down as it tracked southeastward at a rapid speed. The tornado did little damage until south of Crawfordsville, where the tornado rapidly intensified as it approached the Moore Heights subdivision. Several homes in the subdivision were heavily damaged, with nine being completely destroyed at near-F4 intensity. Then the tornado struck the Rock River Feed and Fur Company, completely destroying the structure. The tornado continued south towards the town of Ladoga, where the tornado struck several mobile homes, killing a mother and injuring her son in one trailer that was scattered over 30 acres. The tornado lifted north of Ladoga at 2:00 pm EDT after tracking for 18.1 miles (29.13 km). The tornado caused an estimated $2 million USD (1980), claimed the life of one, and injured 16 others. The tornado was rated as F3.
At 2:20 pm EDT, the third tornado touched down in the city of Indianapolis. The short lived but powerful tornado touched down along East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive, instantly destroying a camper in the driveway of a home, and a six foot diameter oak tree was split in half in the backyard. A stop sign on the corner of Marianne Avenue and Arlene Drive was bent to the ground. The tornado then destroyed the garage of a home on Marianne Avenue before rapidly intensifying and destroyed four to six homes on the corner of Marianne and Richardt Avenue at near-F3 intensity, with a dozen other homes receiving lesser damage. The tornado threw debris from the homes onto I-465, causing a car accident. The tornado then lifted after crossing the embankment of I-70 and I-465. The tornado was rated as F2.