April 1981 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service.
In April 1981, 297 hail, 367 damaging-wind and 82 tornado reports were logged on 28 storm days across 33 states. The largest hail reported was 5.00″ (softball size) in Kiowa County, OK on April 12, 1981. The most hail reports came on April 13, 1981 (54). Tornadoes killed 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← March 1981 All 1981 storm days May 1981 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of April 1981
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1981 | 40 | 148 | 17 | 2.50″ | 12 |
| Apr 13, 1981 | 54 | 50 | 15 | 4.50″ | 10 |
| Apr 28, 1981 | 30 | 48 | 3 | 2.00″ | 11 |
| Apr 10, 1981 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 4.50″ | 7 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 3.00″ | 5 |
| Apr 30, 1981 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 2.75″ | 7 |
| Apr 20, 1981 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 2.75″ | 6 |
| Apr 23, 1981 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 1.75″ | 3 |
| Apr 12, 1981 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 5.00″ | 7 |
| Apr 19, 1981 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2.50″ | 8 |
Largest hail reported in April 1981
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1981 | 5.00″ (softball) | Kiowa County, OK |
| Apr 10, 1981 | 4.50″ (softball) | Floyd County, TX |
| Apr 13, 1981 | 4.50″ (softball) | Pike County, MO |
| Apr 12, 1981 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Jefferson County, MO |
| Apr 11, 1981 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Jackson County, OK |
| Apr 10, 1981 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Warren County, IA |
| Apr 12, 1981 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Franklin County, MO |
| Apr 13, 1981 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Henry County, IL |
| Apr 13, 1981 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Bureau County, IL |
| Apr 13, 1981 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Nemaha County, NE |
Storm reports by state, April 1981
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 44 | 58 | 11 | 4.50″ |
| Texas | 46 | 54 | 9 | 4.50″ |
| Illinois | 35 | 48 | 9 | 3.00″ |
| Iowa | 35 | 29 | 10 | 3.00″ |
| Ohio | 24 | 29 | 3 | 2.00″ |
| Nebraska | 27 | 17 | 3 | 3.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 19 | 10 | 11 | 5.00″ |
| Indiana | 6 | 30 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| Kansas | 10 | 16 | 3 | 2.50″ |
| Minnesota | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2.50″ |
| Wisconsin | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Florida | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Arkansas | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| North Carolina | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Tennessee | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Georgia | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| South Carolina | 0 | 3 | 3 | – |
| Alabama | 0 | 5 | 0 | – |
| North Dakota | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| West Virginia | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Wyoming | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Oregon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| California | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Mississippi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| South Dakota | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
Every storm day in April 1981
Apr 1 Apr 2 Apr 3 Apr 4 Apr 5 Apr 8 Apr 9 Apr 10 Apr 11 Apr 12 Apr 13 Apr 14 Apr 15 Apr 16 Apr 17 Apr 18 Apr 19 Apr 20 Apr 21 Apr 22 Apr 23 Apr 24 Apr 25 Apr 26 Apr 27 Apr 28 Apr 29 Apr 30
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.