Today is the 45th anniversary of the tornado outbreak in Grand Island.
June 3, 1980: A Look Back At The Historic Grand Island Tornado Outbreak
Tuesday, June 3,1980 marked one of the most unique tornado events to ever impact Nebraska, if not the entire United States. It is arguably an unparalleled event in meteorological history. This tornado outbreak provided the basis for a book and television movie, as well as tornado and engineering research.
During the early evening hours, a massive supercell thunderstorm complex developed just north-northwest of Grand Island. This complex moved very slowly southeast through the area at around 10 MPH. Over a period of just under 3 hours, this storm complex would produce multiple tornadoes in and around the city of Grand Island.
This many slow-moving, damaging tornadoes affecting such a small-but-populated geographic area makes it an one-of-a-kind event, but what made it even more unique was the fact that 3 of the 7 tornadoes were anti-cyclonic!
Five people lost their lives as a result of these tornadoes, with around 200 people injured. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed, with a total damage of nearly 300 million dollars (in 1980 dollars).