Storm reports for May 18, 1997

IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology

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Other storms on May 18 →

On May 18, 1997, 130 hail, 116 damaging-wind and 14 tornado reports were logged across 15 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Delaware County, IA.

Storm day runs 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. Eastern (12:00–12:00 UTC), the convention the Storm Prediction Center uses. Radar hail estimates start October 2019.

Storm reports by state

Cities with hail reported within 5 miles

Hail reports (130)

Damage, injuries and deaths

National Weather Service offices recorded about $61 million in property damage, $100,000 in crop damage, 7 injuries and 1 death from hail, thunderstorm wind and tornadoes across the US on this storm day (300 events in 15 states). Injuries and deaths are those the events caused directly.

What the National Weather Service wrote

• Putnam County, OH (near Ottawa) · Thunderstorm wind 58 mph · $10,000 · 1 death
  “Numerous trees down including one that fell on a car causing a fatality.”
• Kalamazoo County, MI (near Kalamazoo) · Thunderstorm wind · $500,000 · 1 injury
  “At 1020 PM EDT Sunday, May 18, a wet microburst hit the Americana Estates mobile home park in western Kalamazoo, Michigan. The mobile home park is located one mile northeast of the U.S. Highway 131/Stadium Street (Business I-94) interchange.”
• Hillsdale County, MI (near Hillsdale) · Thunderstorm wind · $50,000 · 1 injury
  “Hillsdale County officials reported trees and power lines were downed by straight-line thunderstorm winds across Allen, Adams, and Wheatland townships. Four barns were destroyed at 3120 East Bacon Road in Hillsdale and damage was done to the home at the same address.”
• DuPage County, IL (near (Dpa)Dupage Co Arpt) · Thunderstorm wind 74 mph · 1 injury
  “A 73 mph wind gust was reported at Du Page Airport in West Chicago. Trees and limbs were blown down throughout the county causing power outages. Some trees or limbs fell on cars and roofs of houses.”
• Marshall County, IN (near Tippecanoe) · Thunderstorm wind · 1 injury
  “A trailer was blown over, one person was injured.”
• Johnson County, IA (near Iowa City) · Hail 2.75″ · $40 million
  “A 15 minute "rain" of baseball sized hail caused $30 to $50 million dollars of damage. One insurance agent said "this was the worst storm since 1967." He went on to say; "everyone he insures who has a skylight now has a broken skylight." This included the skylights over the swimming pool in the…”

Event narratives from NWS Storm Data, shortened. Up to six per day, chosen by deaths, injuries, damage and size.

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Storm Events Database, as entered by National Weather Service offices; data through July 31, 2026. Damage is in dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation.

Guides: What radar-estimated hail (MESH) is and isn't · Storm reports: preliminary vs final