Storm reports for January 5, 1998

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 January 5 →

On January 5, 1998, 71 hail, 19 damaging-wind and 7 tornado reports were logged across 5 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Gregg County, TX.

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 (71)

Damage, injuries and deaths

National Weather Service offices recorded about $3.7 million in property damage from hail, thunderstorm wind and tornadoes across the US on this storm day (90 events in 4 states). Injuries and deaths are those the events caused directly.

What the National Weather Service wrote

• Upshur County, TX (near Gilmer) · Hail 1.75″ · $1.1 million
  “Three automobile dealerships suffered considerable hail damage to their entire inventories of over 300 vehicles. The hail fell continuously for over 20 minutes. A 24 year veteran in insurance claims said that the hail episode was the second worse he had ever seen in north Texas.”
• Gregg County, TX (near Longview) · Hail 4.50″ · $1 million
  “Grapefruit to softball size hail went through the roofs of houses and mobile homes. Two to three inch hail drifts remained along Hwy 300 between Longview and Gilmer 17 hours after it fell.”
• Upshur County, TX (near Gilmer) · Hail 4.50″ · $1 million
  “Grapefruit to softball size hail went through the roofs of houses and mobile homes. Two to three inch hail drifts remained along Hwy 300 between Longview and Gilmer 17 hours after it fell.”
• Smith County, TX (near Gresham) · Tornado F2 · $120,000
  “HP Supercell developed along a quasi-stationary front and moved northeast. This Supercell produced a family of three tornadoes, numerous microbursts and giant hail. A meso was detected by dopplar radar with the HP supercell. In this supercell an F2 tornado was produced.”
• Mills County, TX (near Goldthwaite) · Tornado F1 · $40,000
  “A tornado severely damaged a mobile home.”
• Anderson County, TX (near Tennessee Colony) · Thunderstorm wind · $15,000
  “Strong winds blew the roof off the community center and uprooted trees.”

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