Storm reports for August 21, 1997

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

← Aug 20, 1997 All 1997 storm days · August 1997 Aug 22, 1997 →

Other storms on August 21 →

On August 21, 1997, 43 hail, 89 damaging-wind and 5 tornado reports were logged across 10 states. The largest hail reported was 4.00″ (grapefruit size) in Dundy County, NE.

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 (43)

Damage, injuries and deaths

National Weather Service offices recorded about $5.2 million in property damage, $12.8 million in crop damage and 16 injuries from hail, thunderstorm wind and tornadoes across the US on this storm day (149 events in 11 states). Injuries and deaths are those the events caused directly.

What the National Weather Service wrote

• Franklin County, OH (near Obetz) · Thunderstorm wind 58 mph · $50,000 · 15 injuries
  “A wind gust knocked down 30 tents injuring 15 people , and knocking down electrical lines.”
• Chase County, NE (near Imperial) · Hail 2.75″ · $1 million
  “Hail ranging in size from peas to tennis balls along with winds in excess of 60 mph damaged growing corn and personal property.”
• Chase County, NE (near Imperial) · Hail 1.75″ · $1 million
  “Large hail and damaging winds estimated at 100 mph broke windows and tree limbs and damaged crops in the area.”
• Sumner County, KS (near Mulvane) · Thunderstorm wind 81 mph · $500,000
  “THREE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED, INCLUDING ONE COMPLETELY UNROOFED. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER POLES BLOWN DOWN RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES.”
• Decatur County, KS (near Dresden) · Thunderstorm wind 100 mph · $250,000
  “Wind blew out windows, uprooted trees, knocked down signs and antennas. At least 4 roofs were blown off; a storage building and a mobile home was destroyed. A leg on a grain elevator was bent. At Leoville, spotter estimated 60 mph winds.”
• Gray County, KS (near Charleston) · Thunderstorm wind · $250,000
  “2 pivot sprinklers overturned...power poles blown down...a small airplane hanger was destroyed...a combine was rolled and crumpled up.”

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