National Storms

October 1978 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes

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In October 1978, 14 hail, 5 damaging-wind and 7 tornado reports were logged on 7 storm days across 9 states. The largest hail reported was 1.75″ (golf ball size) in Hillsborough County, FL on October 5, 1978. The most hail reports came on October 10, 1978 (8).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology

← September 1978 All 1978 storm days November 1978 →

14hail reports
5wind reports
7tornado reports
1.75″largest hail
7storm days
Oct 1: 0Oct 2: 0Oct 3: 0Oct 4: 0Oct 5: 1Oct 6: 0Oct 7: 1Oct 8: 0Oct 9: 0Oct 10: 8Oct 11: 0Oct 12: 4Oct 13: 0Oct 14: 0Oct 15: 0Oct 16: 0Oct 17: 0Oct 18: 0Oct 19: 0Oct 20: 0Oct 21: 0Oct 22: 0Oct 23: 0Oct 24: 0Oct 25: 0Oct 26: 0Oct 27: 0Oct 28: 0Oct 29: 0Oct 30: 0Oct 31: 0Oct 1Oct 4Oct 7Oct 10Oct 13Oct 16Oct 19Oct 22Oct 25Oct 28Oct 31max 8
Hail reports by day, October 1978

Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.

Biggest storm days of October 1978

DayHailWindTornadoLargest hailStates
Oct 10, 19788011.75″3
Oct 12, 19784111.75″4
Oct 5, 19781131.75″5
Oct 4, 1978011–2
Oct 7, 19781101.75″2
Oct 13, 1978001–1
Oct 21, 1978010–1

Largest hail reported in October 1978

DaySizeLocation
Oct 5, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Hillsborough County, FL
Oct 7, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Potter County, TX
Oct 10, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Clay County, MO
Oct 10, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Wyandotte County, KS
Oct 10, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Johnson County, KS
Oct 10, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Polk County, MO
Oct 12, 19781.75″ (golf ball)Jackson County, IN
Oct 12, 19781.75″ (golf ball)St. Clair County, IL
Oct 10, 19781.50″ (ping pong ball)Vernon County, MO
Oct 10, 19781.00″ (quarter)Chariton County, MO

Storm reports by state, October 1978

StateHailWindTornadoLargest hail
Missouri7001.75″
Texas1211.75″
Florida1021.75″
Ohio021–
Illinois2001.75″
Indiana1011.75″
Kansas2001.75″
New Mexico011–
Michigan001–

Every storm day in October 1978

Oct 4 Oct 5 Oct 7 Oct 10 Oct 12 Oct 13 Oct 21

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.