May 1973 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1973, 222 hail, 335 damaging-wind and 249 tornado reports were logged on 28 storm days across 42 states. The largest hail reported was 5.00″ (softball size) in Gaines County, TX on May 22, 1973. The most hail reports came on May 19, 1973 (24). Tornadoes killed 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1973 All 1973 storm days June 1973 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1973
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1973 | 20 | 42 | 11 | 2.75″ | 18 |
| May 27, 1973 | 6 | 25 | 41 | 3.00″ | 12 |
| May 23, 1973 | 22 | 39 | 9 | 2.00″ | 12 |
| May 26, 1973 | 8 | 25 | 34 | 2.75″ | 12 |
| May 28, 1973 | 10 | 26 | 23 | 2.00″ | 11 |
| May 19, 1973 | 24 | 18 | 7 | 2.75″ | 10 |
| May 7, 1973 | 4 | 19 | 25 | 1.75″ | 10 |
| May 6, 1973 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 2.00″ | 7 |
| May 10, 1973 | 22 | 8 | 16 | 3.00″ | 9 |
| May 25, 1973 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 2.75″ | 11 |
Largest hail reported in May 1973
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1973 | 5.00″ (softball) | Gaines County, TX |
| May 22, 1973 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Lynn County, TX |
| May 10, 1973 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Stoddard County, MO |
| May 27, 1973 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Floyd County, GA |
| May 8, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Foard County, TX |
| May 11, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Van Buren County, AR |
| May 19, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Jackson County, AL |
| May 19, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Union County, MS |
| May 21, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Shawnee County, KS |
| May 24, 1973 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Hill County, TX |
Storm reports by state, May 1973
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 49 | 28 | 21 | 5.00″ |
| Alabama | 9 | 49 | 16 | 2.75″ |
| Missouri | 20 | 22 | 26 | 3.00″ |
| Mississippi | 13 | 29 | 16 | 2.75″ |
| North Carolina | 7 | 20 | 31 | 2.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 10 | 16 | 18 | 2.75″ |
| Tennessee | 10 | 20 | 14 | 1.75″ |
| Georgia | 14 | 18 | 8 | 3.00″ |
| Kansas | 12 | 15 | 8 | 2.75″ |
| Arkansas | 14 | 10 | 9 | 2.75″ |
| Louisiana | 12 | 17 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| South Carolina | 1 | 15 | 12 | 1.75″ |
| Illinois | 6 | 13 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 9 | 12 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Florida | 3 | 13 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Ohio | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Indiana | 0 | 1 | 12 | – |
| Nebraska | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1.00″ |
| Iowa | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| Minnesota | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.75″ |
| New Mexico | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Idaho | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.75″ |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Nevada | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| New York | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| Utah | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Virginia | 0 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Montana | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| New Jersey | 0 | 0 | 2 | – |
| South Dakota | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Wyoming | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Connecticut | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Maryland | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| West Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
Every storm day in May 1973
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 14 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.