National Storms

May 1985 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes

IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service.

In May 1985, 785 hail, 623 damaging-wind and 181 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 39 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Wichita County, TX on May 12, 1985. The most hail reports came on May 26, 1985 (81). Tornadoes killed 78.

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

← April 1985 All 1985 storm days June 1985 →

785hail reports
623wind reports
181tornado reports
4.50″largest hail
31storm days
May 1: 3May 2: 1May 3: 2May 4: 1May 5: 11May 6: 24May 7: 26May 8: 28May 9: 13May 10: 35May 11: 17May 12: 61May 13: 31May 14: 26May 15: 17May 16: 34May 17: 7May 18: 1May 19: 25May 20: 67May 21: 17May 22: 19May 23: 9May 24: 22May 25: 13May 26: 81May 27: 58May 28: 18May 29: 15May 30: 47May 31: 56May 1May 4May 7May 10May 13May 16May 19May 22May 25May 28May 31max 81
Hail reports by day, May 1985

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

Biggest storm days of May 1985

DayHailWindTornadoLargest hailStates
May 26, 1985813863.25″11
May 31, 19855637302.75″11
May 13, 19853177124.50″12
May 20, 19856721112.75″6
May 27, 1985583264.50″11
May 30, 19854729172.75″13
May 12, 1985612354.50″10
May 14, 1985265842.00″11
May 11, 19851738241.75″9
May 21, 1985175261.75″12

Largest hail reported in May 1985

DaySizeLocation
May 12, 19854.50″ (softball)Wichita County, TX
May 13, 19854.50″ (softball)Creek County, OK
May 27, 19854.50″ (softball)Beaver County, OK
May 12, 19854.00″ (grapefruit)Oklahoma County, OK
May 8, 19853.50″ (teacup)Mobile County, AL
May 26, 19853.25″ (teacup)Oklahoma County, OK
May 8, 19853.00″ (teacup)Covington County, AL
May 10, 19853.00″ (teacup)Howard County, NE
May 12, 19853.00″ (teacup)Jones County, TX
May 12, 19853.00″ (teacup)Comanche County, OK

Storm reports by state, May 1985

StateHailWindTornadoLargest hail
Texas17695284.50″
Oklahoma1322964.50″
Kansas582762.75″
Ohio4323122.00″
Arkansas65821.75″
North Carolina392322.50″
Pennsylvania2522172.75″
Iowa163972.75″
Missouri391373.00″
Louisiana84912.00″
Minnesota341672.50″
Nebraska2816133.00″
South Dakota1514271.75″
Wisconsin132561.75″
Mississippi23151.75″
New York102622.00″
Illinois112312.00″
Indiana111912.75″
North Dakota182102.75″
Michigan151031.75″
Alabama91523.50″
Florida101051.75″
South Carolina15701.75″
Colorado15052.75″
Massachusetts8401.75″
Kentucky2702.75″
Georgia2401.00″
New Mexico3211.75″
Maryland1400.75″
Montana2121.50″
New Jersey5001.75″
Tennessee1400.75″
Wyoming2121.75″
Virginia4001.75″
Idaho2011.00″
Maine2101.50″
West Virginia3002.00″
Connecticut020–
Utah010–

Every storm day in May 1985

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 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.