May 1998 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
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In May 1998, 3,146 hail, 2,388 damaging-wind and 310 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 47 states. The largest hail reported was 5.00″ (softball size) in Story County, IA on May 30, 1998. The most hail reports came on May 7, 1998 (268). Tornadoes killed 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
← April 1998 All 1998 storm days June 1998 →
Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 1998
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | 158 | 379 | 39 | 2.75″ | 18 |
| May 30, 1998 | 112 | 273 | 25 | 5.00″ | 13 |
| May 15, 1998 | 39 | 309 | 26 | 3.00″ | 11 |
| May 24, 1998 | 250 | 80 | 28 | 4.00″ | 16 |
| May 7, 1998 | 268 | 40 | 42 | 4.50″ | 18 |
| May 21, 1998 | 157 | 144 | 15 | 4.50″ | 15 |
| May 28, 1998 | 126 | 151 | 15 | 3.00″ | 19 |
| May 29, 1998 | 52 | 213 | 1 | 2.75″ | 19 |
| May 3, 1998 | 200 | 32 | 10 | 3.00″ | 16 |
| May 8, 1998 | 153 | 57 | 10 | 4.00″ | 11 |
Largest hail reported in May 1998
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 30, 1998 | 5.00″ (softball) | Story County, IA |
| May 7, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Rowan County, NC |
| May 12, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Schuyler County, IL |
| May 21, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Texas County, MO |
| May 21, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Hayes County, NE |
| May 21, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Kearney County, NE |
| May 27, 1998 | 4.50″ (softball) | Montgomery County, NC |
| May 7, 1998 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Forsyth County, GA |
| May 7, 1998 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Cherokee County, GA |
| May 7, 1998 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Cobb County, GA |
Storm reports by state, May 1998
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 270 | 120 | 13 | 4.00″ |
| Nebraska | 236 | 108 | 17 | 4.50″ |
| Texas | 225 | 117 | 12 | 4.00″ |
| Iowa | 121 | 177 | 33 | 5.00″ |
| North Carolina | 217 | 73 | 22 | 4.50″ |
| Georgia | 226 | 33 | 10 | 4.00″ |
| Minnesota | 105 | 150 | 5 | 3.00″ |
| Wisconsin | 77 | 154 | 15 | 1.75″ |
| Michigan | 52 | 183 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| New York | 43 | 185 | 10 | 1.75″ |
| Oklahoma | 110 | 86 | 22 | 3.50″ |
| Missouri | 144 | 63 | 2 | 4.50″ |
| Ohio | 115 | 81 | 4 | 2.75″ |
| Illinois | 85 | 94 | 19 | 4.50″ |
| Kentucky | 63 | 128 | 5 | 2.75″ |
| Pennsylvania | 33 | 129 | 22 | 1.75″ |
| Tennessee | 76 | 94 | 2 | 3.00″ |
| Alabama | 130 | 21 | 6 | 2.75″ |
| Arkansas | 99 | 36 | 5 | 1.75″ |
| Colorado | 121 | 6 | 9 | 2.75″ |
| South Carolina | 68 | 42 | 16 | 2.75″ |
| Indiana | 53 | 62 | 9 | 2.00″ |
| Virginia | 99 | 11 | 1 | 2.75″ |
| Florida | 61 | 26 | 3 | 2.00″ |
| South Dakota | 64 | 6 | 10 | 3.00″ |
| North Dakota | 55 | 9 | 10 | 2.50″ |
| Mississippi | 45 | 20 | 0 | 2.50″ |
| Massachusetts | 19 | 37 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| West Virginia | 32 | 12 | 1 | 2.50″ |
| New Jersey | 6 | 28 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| New Hampshire | 5 | 23 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Louisiana | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Montana | 12 | 13 | 0 | 2.75″ |
| Vermont | 4 | 20 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Wyoming | 13 | 2 | 6 | 1.75″ |
| Idaho | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1.75″ |
| Connecticut | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Maryland | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| New Mexico | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3.00″ |
| California | 0 | 1 | 7 | – |
| Maine | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Oregon | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1.25″ |
| Utah | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.80″ |
| Nevada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.88″ |
| Delaware | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.75″ |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 1 | – |
Every storm day in May 1998
May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31
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.