The heart of downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, was heavily damaged by a deadly F3 tornado on this date 45 years ago.
Regarded as the city’s worst disaster by the Kalamazoo Public Library, the twister carved an 11-mile-long path in the late afternoon on May 13, 1980. It tracked from west of Kalamazoo straight through downtown before lifting to the east of the city.
Five people were killed and 1,200 were left homeless because of the twister’s destruction to many homes and commercial buildings. A cemetery, an elementary school and the Kalamazoo Mall were among the areas that suffered damage…