May 1956 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1956, 48 hail, 77 damaging-wind and 80 tornado reports were logged on 28 storm days across 31 states. The largest hail reported was 4.00″ (grapefruit size) in Muskegon County, MI on May 12, 1956. The most hail reports came on May 29, 1956 (7). Tornadoes killed 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1956 All 1956 storm days June 1956 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1956
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 1956 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 4.00″ | 5 |
| May 30, 1956 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 2.75″ | 7 |
| May 29, 1956 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2.50″ | 7 |
| May 1, 1956 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2.00″ | 2 |
| May 10, 1956 | 0 | 8 | 7 | – | 5 |
| May 22, 1956 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2.00″ | 7 |
| May 27, 1956 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0.75″ | 2 |
| May 31, 1956 | 0 | 8 | 2 | – | 4 |
| May 7, 1956 | 0 | 4 | 3 | – | 1 |
| May 9, 1956 | 0 | 4 | 3 | – | 6 |
Largest hail reported in May 1956
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 12, 1956 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Muskegon County, MI |
| May 8, 1956 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Greenwood County, KS |
| May 12, 1956 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Polk County, NE |
| May 30, 1956 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Jefferson County, KS |
| May 12, 1956 | 2.50″ (tennis ball) | Portage County, OH |
| May 29, 1956 | 2.50″ (tennis ball) | Deaf Smith County, TX |
| May 1, 1956 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Greer County, OK |
| May 2, 1956 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Hidalgo County, TX |
| May 20, 1956 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Horry County, SC |
| May 22, 1956 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Davidson County, NC |
Storm reports by state, May 1956
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 10 | 16 | 17 | 2.50″ |
| Kansas | 7 | 9 | 10 | 3.00″ |
| Michigan | 3 | 8 | 13 | 4.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 10 | 6 | 2.00″ |
| Nebraska | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3.00″ |
| Indiana | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Iowa | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2.00″ |
| Illinois | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Missouri | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.50″ |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 2 | 3 | – |
| Arkansas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.50″ |
| Florida | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Ohio | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50″ |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.00″ |
| Georgia | 0 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Idaho | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.50″ |
| Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| Colorado | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| North Dakota | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.00″ |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Virginia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| Arizona | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| California | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Maryland | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| New Jersey | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
Every storm day in May 1956
May 1 May 2 May 3 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 16 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31
A storm day runs 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. Eastern (12:00–12:00 UTC), the convention the Storm Prediction Center uses. Read more about NOAA storm reports.