Storm reports for May 21, 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 May 21 →

On May 21, 1998, 157 hail, 144 damaging-wind and 15 tornado reports were logged across 15 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Texas County, MO.

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 (157)

Damage, injuries and deaths

National Weather Service offices recorded about $3.5 million in property damage, $11 million in crop damage and 3 injuries from hail, thunderstorm wind and tornadoes across the US on this storm day (370 events in 15 states). Injuries and deaths are those the events caused directly.

What the National Weather Service wrote

• Union County, KY (near Henshaw) · Thunderstorm wind 58 mph · $4,000 · 1 injury
  “Downed trees and broken limbs were reported throughout the county. Kentucky State Police reported a falling tree struck a car on Kentucky 758, but the driver was not seriously hurt.”
• Montgomery County, TN (near Clarksville) · Thunderstorm wind · $80,000
  “Local EMA officials reported trees were blown down county wide. Clarksville Department of Electricity, according to newspaper accounts, said it would cost $80,000 to repair downed power lines by trees.”
• Warren County, TN (near Irving College) · Thunderstorm wind · $50,000
  “Trees were blown down. Newspaper article mentions a roof was blown off a restaurant in the Harrison Ferry Mountain area of Warren county. Some of the rafters came from a barn built in 1860. A large portion of the roof fell onto some cars in the parking lot.”
• Rutherford County, TN (near Murfreesboro) · Thunderstorm wind · $50,000
  “Strong winds caught the edge of the gym's metal roof, rolled it up and left it dangling at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. The report was relayed to the NWS by a radio station.”
• Camden County, MO (near Hurricane Deck) · Tornado F0 · $30,000
  “A weak tornado briefly touched down near Lake Road 5-61 near RY-SEN-SUN Estates and Standing Rock Campground. Several trees were uprooted, with one tree falling on a mobile home. A radio tower in the area was also blown down.”
• Jackson County, IL (near (Mdh)Crbndl/Mrfysbro) · Thunderstorm wind 66 mph · $25,000
  “A wind gust to 65 MPH was measured at the Southern Illinois Airport. Damage was limited to a few fallen trees. Portions of a fallen tree damaged three cars in a lot next to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. In Vergennes, a 70-foot grain silo was toppled.”

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