The Western Wisconsin Derecho was a derecho, or severe weather system, that occurred through several counties of Western Wisconsin on July 15, 1980. It caused nearly $160M in damage (1980 dollars) and one person was killed. At the time, it was the worst natural disaster in Wisconsin history. To this day, the storm is still referred to as "The July 15th (1980) Storm," "July 15th, 1980," or simply "The Storm."
The system formed in central Minnesota during the early evening of July 15 and intensified that evening in the eastern part of the state. It was a rapidly-moving storm, roaring through the Twin Cities at 60 mph (97 km/h), and picked up speed as it entered Wisconsin.
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The 15 July storm developed during the devastating heat wave of 1980. Eight of the previous nine days in the Twin Cities had highs above 90°F (32°C). The high on 11 July was 100°F (38°C). On 14 July, the day before the storm, the high was 99°F (37°C); the overnight low was a sticky 79°F (26°C). Conditions for severe weather had clearly been developing for days.
At 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of July 15, a weak area of low pressure was stationed over eastern South Dakota, adjacent to a warm front that extended southeast through southern Minnesota into eastern Iowa. Ahead (north) of the warm front was an area of hot, dry air: the high temperature for the day at Eau Claire was 93°F (34°C)[1] and 93°F (34°C) in the Twin Cities. South of the front was very humid, hot air: Cedar Rapids, Iowa had a high temperature of 98°F (37°C).
As the afternoon progressed, the warm front moved into the drier air to the north, pulling with it the moist air over the dry air. Regional meteorologists were aware of the potential for thunderstorms because of the low pressure system and the intense heat and moisture, but no one could have predicted the storm that would develop that night.
As the storm raced through St Croix, Pierce, Dunn, Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Clark counties, it caused a band of damage more than 20 miles (30 km) wide. A maximum wind speed of 112 mph[2] (180 km/h) was recorded at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, while 100 mph wind was recorded in the city of Eau Claire. At 9:39 p.m., WEAU-TV broadcast an alert from the National Weather Service about one of several tornado warnings that evening for Eau Claire County; moments later, the station lost power and went off-the-air. Seven of the city's eight radio stations were still off-the-air the next morning.[3]
By 10:00 p.m., with the most intense part of the storm winding down, the area of low pressure was directly over western Wisconsin. Behind the low, air had cooled considerably, with the Twin Cities reporting temperatures in the upper 60s. In addition to being tremendously destructive, the storm was considerably long-lived. The same system produced severe derechos through Illinois and Michigan overnight and into the following day. [4] The system was estimated to have caused $650M ($1.3B in 2003 dollars) in damage across the four states.[5]
Although much of the storm's damage was caused by straight-line winds (see downburst), several tornadoes were reported.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 10 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| List of reported tornadoes - Tuesday, July 15, 1980 | ||||||
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| Wisconsin | ||||||
| F3 | Eau Claire | 0225 | 1 mile (1.6 km) | 1 Death 10 Injuries 3/4-mile-wide tornado briefly touched down causing $2.5 million in damages. Strongest tornado during the three hour event. | ||
| F1 | Eau Claire | 0240 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | Brief touchdown, caused $25,000 in damages. | ||
| F2 | Chippewa | 0240 | 0.2 miles (0.3 km) | 1 Death 5 Injuries Brief touchdown, caused $2.5 million in damages. | ||
| F2 | St. Croix, Dunn | 0245 | unknown | 1 Death 12 Injuries Caused $2.5 million in damages. | ||
| F1 | Chippewa | 0245 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, caused $2,500 in damages. | ||
| F0 | Chippewa | 0245 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, no damage reported. | ||
| F2 | Eau Claire | 0250 | 2.7 miles (4.3 km) | Brief touchdown, caused $250,000 in damages. | ||
| F0 | Chippewa | 0307 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, no damage reported. | ||
| F1 | Clark | 0507 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, no damage reported. | ||
| F1 | Eau Claire | 0508 | 0.1 miles (0.2 km) | Brief touchdown, no damage reported. | ||
One area of Eau Clare that was hit hardest was the Mill Run subdivision, at the time a part of the Town of Union, now a neighborhood on the city's north side. Many homes in the neighborhood were destroyed. Across US-12 from Mill Run are the headquarters of the home improvement retailer Menards, which also sustained major damage. Six residents of the Stardust Estates mobile home court were injured in the storm.[6]
Farm property was hit very hard, with Dunn County receiving the worst damage. It was estimated that more than $27M of damage was done just to farm buildings in that county, and $8M in crops. More than 10,000 farms were initially without power after the storm.
Numerous concrete stave silos on the small Wisconsin dairy farms were blown in half with only the bottom half showing.
It also caused the bankruptcy of the Martel Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which inexplicably did not have re-insurance coverage. Thus, many farmers had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in assessments to cover the final losses of the insurance company.
Four counties affected by the storm were declared federal disaster areas on 24 July by President Jimmy Carter. Approximately $3.3M of public property in Eau Claire County was damaged in the storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would have covered that entire amount in theory. But at some point that year, the rule was changed on what FEMA would cover – which amounted to only 75%. That left better than $800,000 for Wisconsin to pay. No one notified the states when the rule was changed.
Theories for the change in coverage include the massive influx of Cubans into the country; the Mount St. Helens eruption of 18 May; the severe tornadoes in Grand Island, Nebraska in June; and flooding in western Pennsylvania during August. The federal government's budget was badly impacted by these and other disasters. In all, there were 22 major disaster declarations in 1980.
Compounding problems for the state was that the storm occurred in an election year. Frustrated Wisconsin officials, including Governor Lee Dreyfus, were not prepared for the difficulty in dealing with the federal government during such a time.