May 1986 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1986, 971 hail, 576 damaging-wind and 173 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 43 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Sumner County, KS on May 5, 1986. The most hail reports came on May 14, 1986 (152). Tornadoes killed 1.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1986 All 1986 storm days June 1986 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1986
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 1986 | 152 | 65 | 20 | 4.50″ | 10 |
| May 6, 1986 | 137 | 77 | 2 | 3.00″ | 12 |
| May 16, 1986 | 80 | 75 | 33 | 3.50″ | 9 |
| May 7, 1986 | 67 | 45 | 9 | 4.00″ | 11 |
| May 8, 1986 | 57 | 44 | 13 | 2.75″ | 10 |
| May 15, 1986 | 36 | 27 | 25 | 2.75″ | 11 |
| May 24, 1986 | 51 | 29 | 4 | 3.00″ | 9 |
| May 17, 1986 | 27 | 48 | 8 | 1.75″ | 7 |
| May 12, 1986 | 64 | 5 | 4 | 4.00″ | 7 |
| May 10, 1986 | 50 | 12 | 9 | 1.75″ | 8 |
Largest hail reported in May 1986
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 5, 1986 | 4.50″ (softball) | Sumner County, KS |
| May 14, 1986 | 4.50″ (softball) | Washington County, OK |
| May 14, 1986 | 4.50″ (softball) | Washington County, OK |
| May 7, 1986 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Decatur County, KS |
| May 12, 1986 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Nobles County, MN |
| May 5, 1986 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Cowley County, KS |
| May 16, 1986 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Crosby County, TX |
| May 6, 1986 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Geary County, KS |
| May 7, 1986 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Blaine County, NE |
| May 14, 1986 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Decatur County, KS |
Storm reports by state, May 1986
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 252 | 94 | 25 | 4.50″ |
| Texas | 153 | 102 | 49 | 3.50″ |
| Kansas | 141 | 28 | 11 | 4.50″ |
| Indiana | 21 | 64 | 7 | 1.75″ |
| Ohio | 39 | 35 | 3 | 2.00″ |
| Iowa | 23 | 24 | 13 | 2.00″ |
| Missouri | 44 | 9 | 7 | 1.75″ |
| Illinois | 32 | 10 | 11 | 1.75″ |
| New York | 8 | 40 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| North Carolina | 33 | 13 | 1 | 3.00″ |
| Arkansas | 11 | 34 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 33 | 5 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 20 | 17 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| Mississippi | 20 | 9 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Nebraska | 20 | 6 | 6 | 3.00″ |
| Florida | 12 | 6 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| North Dakota | 10 | 4 | 5 | 2.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | 7 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| Minnesota | 13 | 3 | 2 | 4.00″ |
| South Carolina | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Georgia | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| South Dakota | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2.75″ |
| Alabama | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0.75″ |
| Colorado | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Maine | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Vermont | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Tennessee | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Arizona | 0 | 5 | 0 | – |
| Montana | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.00″ |
| Idaho | 0 | 1 | 3 | – |
| Nevada | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.10″ |
| California | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Massachusetts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Wyoming | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| New Jersey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| New Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Utah | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
| Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
Every storm day in May 1986
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.