May 1957 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1957, 116 hail, 136 damaging-wind and 228 tornado reports were logged on 29 storm days across 39 states. The largest hail reported was 5.00″ (softball size) in Val Verde County, TX on May 10, 1957. The most hail reports came on May 20, 1957 (11). Tornadoes killed 86.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1957 All 1957 storm days June 1957 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1957
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1957 | 10 | 26 | 19 | 2.50″ | 11 |
| May 20, 1957 | 11 | 4 | 35 | 4.00″ | 7 |
| May 24, 1957 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 2.50″ | 9 |
| May 22, 1957 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 2.00″ | 8 |
| May 13, 1957 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 1.75″ | 11 |
| May 23, 1957 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 1.75″ | 7 |
| May 30, 1957 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 2.75″ | 7 |
| May 15, 1957 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 3.00″ | 5 |
| May 29, 1957 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 3.75″ | 9 |
| May 25, 1957 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 1.75″ | 11 |
Largest hail reported in May 1957
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1957 | 5.00″ (softball) | Val Verde County, TX |
| May 2, 1957 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Spartanburg County, SC |
| May 20, 1957 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Washington County, KS |
| May 29, 1957 | 3.75″ (teacup) | Lea County, NM |
| May 20, 1957 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Jefferson County, NE |
| May 29, 1957 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Rawlins County, KS |
| May 15, 1957 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Alfalfa County, OK |
| May 17, 1957 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Jefferson County, OK |
| May 28, 1957 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Lincoln County, KS |
| May 28, 1957 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Barton County, KS |
Storm reports by state, May 1957
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 35 | 22 | 33 | 5.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 19 | 8 | 45 | 3.00″ |
| Kansas | 14 | 7 | 35 | 4.00″ |
| Missouri | 9 | 18 | 20 | 2.50″ |
| Arkansas | 3 | 19 | 12 | 1.50″ |
| Nebraska | 6 | 0 | 16 | 3.50″ |
| Iowa | 5 | 4 | 10 | 1.50″ |
| New Mexico | 5 | 1 | 10 | 3.75″ |
| Illinois | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0.75″ |
| Indiana | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1.50″ |
| Tennessee | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Ohio | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 0 | 4 | 1 | – |
| Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 4 | – |
| Florida | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.50″ |
| Georgia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.75″ |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.00″ |
| Virginia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.00″ |
| Alabama | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Connecticut | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 2 | – |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.00″ |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| California | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Michigan | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Idaho | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Maryland | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| New York | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
Every storm day in May 1957
May 1 May 2 May 3 May 5 May 6 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 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.