National Storms

January 1979 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes

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In January 1979, 5 hail, 21 damaging-wind and 16 tornado reports were logged on 10 storm days across 10 states. The largest hail reported was 2.00″ (hen egg size) in Orange County, CA on January 31, 1979. The most hail reports came on January 31, 1979 (4).

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

← December 1978 All 1979 storm days February 1979 →

5hail reports
21wind reports
16tornado reports
2.00″largest hail
10storm days
Jan 1: 0Jan 2: 0Jan 3: 0Jan 4: 0Jan 5: 0Jan 6: 0Jan 7: 0Jan 8: 0Jan 9: 0Jan 10: 0Jan 11: 0Jan 12: 0Jan 13: 0Jan 14: 0Jan 15: 0Jan 16: 0Jan 17: 0Jan 18: 0Jan 19: 0Jan 20: 0Jan 21: 0Jan 22: 0Jan 23: 0Jan 24: 0Jan 25: 1Jan 26: 0Jan 27: 0Jan 28: 0Jan 29: 0Jan 30: 0Jan 31: 4Jan 1Jan 4Jan 7Jan 10Jan 13Jan 16Jan 19Jan 22Jan 25Jan 28Jan 31max 4
Hail reports by day, January 1979

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

Biggest storm days of January 1979

DayHailWindTornadoLargest hailStates
Jan 23, 1979036–2
Jan 19, 1979071–2
Jan 31, 19794222.00″2
Jan 20, 1979031–4
Jan 12, 1979003–1
Jan 18, 1979021–2
Jan 2, 1979011–1
Jan 21, 1979020–2
Jan 25, 19791100.75″1
Jan 1, 1979001–1

Largest hail reported in January 1979

DaySizeLocation
Jan 31, 19792.00″ (hen egg)Orange County, CA
Jan 31, 19791.50″ (ping pong ball)Los Angeles County, CA
Jan 31, 19791.25″ (half dollar)Orange County, CA
Jan 31, 19791.25″ (half dollar)Los Angeles County, CA
Jan 25, 19790.75″ (penny)Maricopa County, AZ

Storm reports by state, January 1979

StateHailWindTornadoLargest hail
Florida0312–
California4132.00″
Louisiana060–
Texas051–
Arizona1100.75″
Alabama010–
Delaware010–
Mississippi010–
North Carolina010–
Virginia010–

Every storm day in January 1979

Jan 1 Jan 2 Jan 12 Jan 18 Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21 Jan 23 Jan 25 Jan 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.