October 1979 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In October 1979, 50 hail, 114 damaging-wind and 47 tornado reports were logged on 18 storm days across 30 states. The largest hail reported was 3.50″ (teacup size) in Reno County, KS on October 18, 1979. The most hail reports came on October 21, 1979 (11). Tornadoes killed 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← September 1979 All 1979 storm days November 1979 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of October 1979
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 1979 | 1 | 32 | 13 | 1.75″ | 6 |
| Oct 21, 1979 | 11 | 25 | 6 | 2.75″ | 6 |
| Oct 1, 1979 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 1.00″ | 4 |
| Oct 3, 1979 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 1.75″ | 7 |
| Oct 29, 1979 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1.75″ | 2 |
| Oct 18, 1979 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3.50″ | 5 |
| Oct 4, 1979 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.75″ | 2 |
| Oct 22, 1979 | 0 | 5 | 4 | – | 7 |
| Oct 5, 1979 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1.75″ | 5 |
| Oct 2, 1979 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1.75″ | 3 |
Largest hail reported in October 1979
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 1979 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Reno County, KS |
| Oct 4, 1979 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Monroe County, GA |
| Oct 21, 1979 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Sedgwick County, KS |
| Oct 2, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Laurens County, SC |
| Oct 2, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Lexington County, SC |
| Oct 3, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Muskegon County, MI |
| Oct 3, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Jefferson County, AR |
| Oct 4, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Barbour County, AL |
| Oct 4, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Bibb County, GA |
| Oct 4, 1979 | 1.75″ (golf ball) | Harris County, GA |
Storm reports by state, October 1979
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8 | 21 | 15 | 1.75″ |
| Oklahoma | 11 | 15 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Indiana | 7 | 11 | 5 | 1.50″ |
| Kansas | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3.50″ |
| Missouri | 0 | 14 | 2 | – |
| Georgia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2.75″ |
| Louisiana | 0 | 8 | 2 | – |
| Arkansas | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 2 | 6 | – |
| Iowa | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Illinois | 0 | 3 | 1 | – |
| Connecticut | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| South Carolina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.90″ |
| Alabama | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| New Jersey | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Maryland | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| North Dakota | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Nevada | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Ohio | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Tennessee | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
Every storm day in October 1979
Oct 1 Oct 2 Oct 3 Oct 4 Oct 5 Oct 6 Oct 8 Oct 11 Oct 15 Oct 16 Oct 18 Oct 21 Oct 22 Oct 25 Oct 28 Oct 29 Oct 30 Oct 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.