May 1988 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1988, 644 hail, 592 damaging-wind and 132 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 41 states. The largest hail reported was 3.50″ (teacup size) in Limestone County, TX on May 9, 1988. The most hail reports came on May 8, 1988 (82). Tornadoes killed 3.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1988 All 1988 storm days June 1988 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1988
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1988 | 82 | 154 | 57 | 2.75″ | 10 |
| May 24, 1988 | 67 | 59 | 3 | 3.00″ | 10 |
| May 9, 1988 | 56 | 54 | 2 | 3.50″ | 10 |
| May 16, 1988 | 56 | 34 | 2 | 1.75″ | 15 |
| May 17, 1988 | 59 | 28 | 1 | 1.75″ | 6 |
| May 15, 1988 | 48 | 33 | 3 | 2.50″ | 6 |
| May 23, 1988 | 30 | 52 | 2 | 1.75″ | 12 |
| May 10, 1988 | 40 | 19 | 2 | 1.75″ | 8 |
| May 7, 1988 | 33 | 12 | 5 | 3.00″ | 10 |
| May 20, 1988 | 24 | 20 | 5 | 1.75″ | 8 |
Largest hail reported in May 1988
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 9, 1988 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Limestone County, TX |
| May 9, 1988 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Freestone County, TX |
| May 7, 1988 | 3.00″ (teacup) | Douglas County, NE |
| May 24, 1988 | 3.00″ (teacup) | St. Tammany Parish, LA |
| May 3, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Iredell County, NC |
| May 8, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | St. Francois County, MO |
| May 9, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Anderson County, TX |
| May 9, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Smith County, TX |
| May 9, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Cherokee County, TX |
| May 24, 1988 | 2.75″ (baseball) | Tift County, GA |
Storm reports by state, May 1988
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 80 | 54 | 2 | 2.75″ |
| South Carolina | 52 | 48 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Texas | 61 | 28 | 7 | 3.50″ |
| Wisconsin | 9 | 47 | 24 | 1.75″ |
| Iowa | 21 | 33 | 25 | 2.00″ |
| Mississippi | 41 | 23 | 2 | 2.50″ |
| Alabama | 36 | 26 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Ohio | 26 | 36 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| Illinois | 6 | 45 | 10 | 1.75″ |
| Kansas | 34 | 9 | 9 | 2.50″ |
| Missouri | 31 | 20 | 0 | 2.75″ |
| Oklahoma | 39 | 8 | 2 | 2.50″ |
| Georgia | 27 | 17 | 1 | 2.75″ |
| Nebraska | 15 | 18 | 7 | 3.00″ |
| Pennsylvania | 17 | 22 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 11 | 14 | 6 | 3.00″ |
| Arkansas | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Tennessee | 21 | 4 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| South Dakota | 7 | 18 | 1 | 2.00″ |
| Florida | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 9 | 10 | 4 | 1.50″ |
| North Dakota | 9 | 12 | 2 | 2.00″ |
| Minnesota | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2.50″ |
| Virginia | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Indiana | 5 | 12 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| New Mexico | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2.50″ |
| Colorado | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1.00″ |
| New York | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| West Virginia | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Maryland | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| New Jersey | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1.00″ |
| Wyoming | 0 | 5 | 3 | – |
| Kentucky | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Montana | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Washington | 0 | 4 | 0 | – |
| Utah | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Idaho | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Nevada | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
Every storm day in May 1988
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.