May 1959 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1959, 136 hail, 123 damaging-wind and 226 tornado reports were logged on 30 storm days across 33 states. The largest hail reported was 6.00″ (softball size) in Butler County, KS on May 17, 1959. The most hail reports came on May 10, 1959 (17). Tornadoes killed 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1959 All 1959 storm days June 1959 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1959
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1959 | 7 | 15 | 47 | 1.75″ | 10 |
| May 10, 1959 | 17 | 13 | 25 | 3.00″ | 11 |
| May 9, 1959 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 2.75″ | 9 |
| May 20, 1959 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 2.00″ | 7 |
| May 28, 1959 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 2.75″ | 9 |
| May 26, 1959 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 1.75″ | 10 |
| May 29, 1959 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 3.00″ | 4 |
| May 18, 1959 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2.75″ | 7 |
| May 25, 1959 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4.00″ | 6 |
| May 17, 1959 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 6.00″ | 5 |
Largest hail reported in May 1959
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1959 | 6.00″ (softball) | Butler County, KS |
| May 17, 1959 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Harper County, KS |
| May 25, 1959 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Armstrong County, TX |
| May 3, 1959 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Lac qui Parle County, MN |
| May 19, 1959 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Wilbarger County, TX |
| May 10, 1959 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Jim Wells County, TX |
| May 29, 1959 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Graham County, KS |
| May 9, 1959 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Pontotoc County, OK |
| May 9, 1959 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Pontotoc County, OK |
| May 10, 1959 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Nueces County, TX |
Storm reports by state, May 1959
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 22 | 26 | 47 | 6.00″ |
| Texas | 31 | 16 | 32 | 4.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 22 | 8 | 35 | 2.75″ |
| Nebraska | 5 | 13 | 25 | 2.00″ |
| Iowa | 9 | 8 | 22 | 2.75″ |
| Wisconsin | 5 | 2 | 17 | 2.75″ |
| Missouri | 9 | 3 | 7 | 2.75″ |
| Minnesota | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3.50″ |
| South Dakota | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1.75″ |
| Illinois | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1.00″ |
| Indiana | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1.00″ |
| Ohio | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.75″ |
| Florida | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.00″ |
| Alabama | 0 | 2 | 3 | – |
| Arkansas | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| Michigan | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Mississippi | 0 | 4 | 1 | – |
| Wyoming | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Georgia | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| North Carolina | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| Connecticut | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| North Dakota | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| New York | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.50″ |
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Maryland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.25″ |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00″ |
Every storm day in May 1959
May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 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.