August 1981 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In August 1981, 114 hail, 187 damaging-wind and 64 tornado reports were logged on 30 storm days across 35 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Turner County, SD on August 3, 1981. The most hail reports came on August 5, 1981 (13).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← July 1981 All 1981 storm days September 1981 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of August 1981
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 1981 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 4.00″ | 10 |
| Aug 2, 1981 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 2.50″ | 7 |
| Aug 3, 1981 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 4.50″ | 7 |
| Aug 4, 1981 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 1.75″ | 5 |
| Aug 1, 1981 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 2.75″ | 6 |
| Aug 6, 1981 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 1.75″ | 7 |
| Aug 7, 1981 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 1.75″ | 11 |
| Aug 26, 1981 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1.75″ | 5 |
| Aug 30, 1981 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1.75″ | 7 |
| Aug 15, 1981 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1.75″ | 3 |
Largest hail reported in August 1981
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 1981 | 4.50″ (softball) | Turner County, SD |
| Aug 5, 1981 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Laramie County, WY |
| Aug 5, 1981 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Logan County, CO |
| Aug 1, 1981 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Fallon County, MT |
| Aug 3, 1981 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Polk County, WI |
| Aug 3, 1981 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Turner County, SD |
| Aug 2, 1981 | 2.50″ (tennis ball) | Custer County, MT |
| Aug 1, 1981 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Prairie County, MT |
| Aug 2, 1981 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Yellowstone County, MT |
| Aug 5, 1981 | 2.00″ (hen egg) | Weld County, CO |
Storm reports by state, August 1981
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 21 | 18 | 5 | 1.75″ |
| Texas | 2 | 13 | 20 | 1.75″ |
| North Dakota | 13 | 20 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 13 | 9 | 3 | 3.50″ |
| South Dakota | 11 | 10 | 4 | 4.50″ |
| Kansas | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Montana | 9 | 9 | 2 | 2.75″ |
| Minnesota | 6 | 8 | 5 | 1.75″ |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 10 | 3 | 2.75″ |
| Alabama | 2 | 11 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Missouri | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Florida | 0 | 2 | 8 | – |
| Iowa | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Illinois | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Wyoming | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4.00″ |
| Arizona | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| California | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Georgia | 0 | 4 | 0 | – |
| Kentucky | 0 | 3 | 1 | – |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.00″ |
| Nevada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 3 | 1 | – |
| Utah | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Indiana | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Mississippi | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| South Carolina | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Virginia | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| North Carolina | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Ohio | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
Every storm day in August 1981
Aug 1 Aug 2 Aug 3 Aug 4 Aug 5 Aug 6 Aug 7 Aug 8 Aug 9 Aug 10 Aug 11 Aug 12 Aug 13 Aug 14 Aug 15 Aug 16 Aug 17 Aug 18 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 21 Aug 22 Aug 24 Aug 25 Aug 26 Aug 27 Aug 28 Aug 29 Aug 30 Aug 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.