Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, July 15, 1980

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, July 15, 1980
Start: 1980-07-15T07:00
End: 1980-07-15T23:45
Location: Wisconsin

July 15, 1980 · NWS T · 40 events in 22 counties and zones

24 thunderstorm wind, 11 tornado, 5 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 3
Injuries: 27
Property damage: $10 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 40

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

24 thunderstorm wind, 11 tornado, 5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 15, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Walworth County
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Coordinates: 42.500, -88.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 15, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Walworth County
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Coordinates: 42.820, -88.320

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 15, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Walworth County
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Coordinates: 42.780, -88.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 15, 7:00 AM CST
Where: Walworth County
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph)
Coordinates: 42.630, -88.630

Thunderstorm Wind, Racine

When: July 15, 7:45 AM CST
Where: Racine County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.680, -88.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 15, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Milwaukee County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.980, -87.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Pierce

When: July 15, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Pierce County
Coordinates: 44.730, -92.470

Hail, Pierce

When: July 15, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Pierce County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 44.720, -92.450

Tornado, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 8:25 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Rating: F3
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 440 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.830, -91.520

Tornado, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 44.770, -91.270

Tornado, Chippewa

When: July 15, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Chippewa County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 67 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.870, -91.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 8:43 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Measured: 97 kt (112 mph)
Coordinates: 44.820, -91.480

Tornado, Chippewa

When: July 15, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Chippewa County
Rating: F0
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 44.920, -91.450

Tornado, Chippewa

When: July 15, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Chippewa County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 44.920, -91.430

Tornado, St. Croix

When: July 15, 8:45 PM CST
Where: St. Croix County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 45.080, -92.170

Tornado, Dunn

When: July 15, 8:48 PM CST
Where: Dunn County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 12 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 45.080, -92.150

Tornado, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2.7 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 44.620, -91.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.330, -90.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Taylor County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.220, -90.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Trempealeau

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Trempealeau County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.300, -91.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Buffalo

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.330, -91.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Rusk

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Rusk County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.470, -91.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Barron

When: July 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Barron County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.430, -91.800

Tornado, Chippewa

When: July 15, 9:07 PM CST
Where: Chippewa County
Rating: F0
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 44.920, -91.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Wood

When: July 15, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Wood County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.470, -90.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 15, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Polk County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.470, -92.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Trempealeau

When: July 15, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Trempealeau County
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 44.370, -91.320

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 15, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Portage County
Coordinates: 44.520, -89.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: July 15, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Coordinates: 44.580, -91.050

Hail, La Crosse

When: July 15, 10:55 PM CST
Where: La Crosse County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.800, -91.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 10:55 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Coordinates: 44.820, -91.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Marathon

When: July 15, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Marathon County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.900, -89.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 15, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Portage County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.470, -89.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When: July 15, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Lincoln County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.370, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Marathon

When: July 15, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Marathon County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.900, -89.720

Tornado, Clark

When: July 15, 11:07 PM CST
Where: Clark County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 44.930, -90.870

Tornado, Eau Claire

When: July 15, 11:08 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 44.700, -91.480

Hail, Vernon

When: July 15, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Vernon County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 43.550, -90.880

Hail, Trempealeau

When: July 15, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Trempealeau County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 44.080, -91.350

Hail, Vernon

When: July 15, 11:45 PM CST
Where: Vernon County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.650, -90.350

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Kind
Tornado, Eau Claire	1980-07-15	Direct
Tornado, Chippewa	1980-07-15	Direct
Tornado, Dunn	1980-07-15	Direct

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1980 Every state in 1980 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1980

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10152345, 10152346, 10152347, 10152348, 10152349, 10152350, 10152351, 10152352, 10152353, 10152354, 10152355, 10152356, 10152357, 10152358, 10152359, 10152360, 10152361, 10152362, 10152363, 10152364, 10152365, 10152366, 10152367, 10152368, 10148932, 10148933, 10148934, 10148935, 10148936, 10148937, 10148938, 10148939, 10148940, 10148941, 10148942, 10148943, 10148944, 10148945, 10148946, 10148947.