National Storms

October 1988 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes

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In October 1988, 80 hail, 55 damaging-wind and 19 tornado reports were logged on 17 storm days across 19 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Young County, TX on October 25, 1988. The most hail reports came on October 1, 1988 (33).

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

← September 1988 All 1988 storm days November 1988 →

80hail reports
55wind reports
19tornado reports
4.50″largest hail
17storm days
Oct 1: 33Oct 2: 2Oct 3: 0Oct 4: 0Oct 5: 0Oct 6: 0Oct 7: 0Oct 8: 1Oct 9: 0Oct 10: 0Oct 11: 0Oct 12: 0Oct 13: 0Oct 14: 1Oct 15: 1Oct 16: 9Oct 17: 4Oct 18: 0Oct 19: 0Oct 20: 0Oct 21: 0Oct 22: 0Oct 23: 2Oct 24: 0Oct 25: 17Oct 26: 3Oct 27: 7Oct 28: 0Oct 29: 0Oct 30: 0Oct 31: 0Oct 1Oct 4Oct 7Oct 10Oct 13Oct 16Oct 19Oct 22Oct 25Oct 28Oct 31max 33
Hail reports by day, October 1988

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

Biggest storm days of October 1988

DayHailWindTornadoLargest hailStates
Oct 1, 198833752.75″3
Oct 17, 198841932.00″5
Oct 25, 198817104.50″2
Oct 26, 19883451.75″3
Oct 27, 19887501.75″2
Oct 16, 19889022.00″4
Oct 2, 19882531.00″4
Oct 23, 19882201.00″2
Oct 3, 1988030–2
Oct 10, 1988030–1

Largest hail reported in October 1988

DaySizeLocation
Oct 25, 19884.50″ (softball)Young County, TX
Oct 25, 19884.50″ (softball)Jack County, TX
Oct 1, 19882.75″ (baseball)Wise County, TX
Oct 16, 19882.00″ (hen egg)Cochise County, AZ
Oct 17, 19882.00″ (hen egg)McLean County, IL
Oct 1, 19881.75″ (golf ball)Jefferson County, OK
Oct 1, 19881.75″ (golf ball)Bosque County, TX
Oct 1, 19881.75″ (golf ball)Coryell County, TX
Oct 1, 19881.75″ (golf ball)McLennan County, TX
Oct 1, 19881.75″ (golf ball)Falls County, TX

Storm reports by state, October 1988

StateHailWindTornadoLargest hail
Texas301244.50″
Louisiana13661.75″
Oklahoma21201.75″
Indiana4741.75″
Michigan5501.75″
Illinois1602.00″
Missouri2301.00″
Mississippi041–
Arizona2102.00″
Florida021–
North Carolina021–
Kansas1101.75″
Colorado1000.75″
Georgia010–
Kentucky010–
Montana001–
Nevada001–
Pennsylvania010–
South Dakota010–

Every storm day in October 1988

Oct 1 Oct 2 Oct 3 Oct 6 Oct 8 Oct 10 Oct 13 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct 16 Oct 17 Oct 21 Oct 23 Oct 24 Oct 25 Oct 26 Oct 27

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.