May 1987 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service.
In May 1987, 507 hail, 437 damaging-wind and 126 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 42 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Kerr County, TX on May 3, 1987. The most hail reports came on May 21, 1987 (104). Tornadoes killed 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1987 All 1987 storm days June 1987 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1987
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1987 | 104 | 35 | 2 | 2.75″ | 12 |
| May 30, 1987 | 29 | 61 | 5 | 1.75″ | 17 |
| May 3, 1987 | 50 | 18 | 5 | 4.50″ | 10 |
| May 31, 1987 | 26 | 32 | 5 | 3.00″ | 14 |
| May 19, 1987 | 18 | 33 | 10 | 2.50″ | 11 |
| May 20, 1987 | 24 | 30 | 4 | 4.00″ | 12 |
| May 25, 1987 | 14 | 16 | 22 | 3.00″ | 14 |
| May 26, 1987 | 22 | 16 | 14 | 1.75″ | 10 |
| May 2, 1987 | 26 | 13 | 1 | 1.75″ | 10 |
| May 14, 1987 | 6 | 33 | 1 | 1.75″ | 10 |
Largest hail reported in May 1987
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1987 | 4.50″ (softball) | Kerr County, TX |
| May 20, 1987 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Frio County, TX |
| May 3, 1987 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Cooke County, TX |
| May 25, 1987 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Gray County, KS |
| May 31, 1987 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Clay County, MO |
| May 1, 1987 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Erath County, TX |
| May 20, 1987 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Bremer County, IA |
| May 21, 1987 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Logan County, OK |
| May 19, 1987 | 2.50″ (tennis ball) | Jewell County, KS |
| May 21, 1987 | 2.50″ (tennis ball) | Canadian County, OK |
Storm reports by state, May 1987
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 92 | 63 | 54 | 4.50″ |
| Oklahoma | 92 | 19 | 5 | 2.75″ |
| Illinois | 24 | 44 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Kansas | 34 | 16 | 6 | 3.00″ |
| Indiana | 9 | 40 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Iowa | 18 | 16 | 13 | 2.75″ |
| Ohio | 9 | 36 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Missouri | 31 | 13 | 0 | 3.00″ |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 11 | 1 | 2.00″ |
| Minnesota | 17 | 7 | 4 | 1.75″ |
| South Carolina | 20 | 7 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 4 | 20 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Mississippi | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| North Carolina | 14 | 11 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| New York | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1.25″ |
| Colorado | 19 | 3 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Arkansas | 9 | 14 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | 12 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Nebraska | 5 | 7 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| New Mexico | 9 | 2 | 7 | 1.75″ |
| Kentucky | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Wyoming | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1.50″ |
| Florida | 0 | 6 | 5 | – |
| Alabama | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Georgia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| South Dakota | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1.00″ |
| Maine | 0 | 8 | 0 | – |
| Vermont | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1.50″ |
| New Jersey | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Nevada | 0 | 0 | 5 | – |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.75″ |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 4 | 0 | – |
| Tennessee | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| North Dakota | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.25″ |
| Washington | 0 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Virginia | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Arizona | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| California | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Oregon | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| West Virginia | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
Every storm day in May 1987
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.