[2] 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)[3] and 93 °F (34 °C) in the Twin Cities.

Regional meteorologists were aware of the potential for thunderstorms because of the low pressure system and the intense heat and moisture.

The storm system formed in eastern Minnesota during the early evening of July 15, 1980, when a 30-year-old female boater was killed on Prior Lake.

[2] At 9:39 p.m., WEAU-TV broadcast an alert from the National Weather Service regarding one of several tornado warnings that evening for Eau Claire County; moments later, the station lost power and went off-the-air.

One hard-hit area of Eau Claire was the Mill Run subdivision, at the time a part of the Town of Union, now a neighborhood on the city's north side.

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.

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.

Frustrated Wisconsin officials, including Governor Lee Dreyfus, were not prepared for the difficulty in dealing with the federal government during such a time.