Remembering the historic heat wave of 1980

The summer of 1980 was one for the record books when it came to extreme heat. Nearly 400 Missourians died from the high temperatures during the three-month heat wave.

In addition to the lives lost, the American Meteorological Society says the cost of the hot, dry summer of 1980 was close to $16 billion. That summer will go down as one of the costliest and deadliest natural disasters in US history.

On June 24, 1980, temperatures started to creep above 90° and steadily increased through the beginning of August, before finally cooling down at the end of September. Nearly three months of unbearable heat wreaked havoc on the Midwest and Southern Plains.

From July 13 to August 8, 1980, 21 days were 100° or more. On July 31, 1980, Springfield reached 105°, the hottest temperature of the year.

The 1980 heat wave resulted in 389 heat-related deaths in Missouri. According to NOAA, over 87% of the deaths occurred during a two-week period, July 8-21, when 339 people died. In St. Louis , more than 150 people died and in Kansas City, 176 deaths were reported.

It became difficult for people to escape the heat. According to the Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute (ARI), 43% of American homes were without any kind of air conditioning in 1980.

In addition to the extreme heat, drought conditions worsened across the Ozarks and beyond. All of the Ozarks were under extreme drought conditions. The drier land led to higher temperatures.

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