May 2023 storm reports: hail, wind and tornadoes
IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service.
In May 2023, 1,769 hail, 1,213 damaging-wind and 168 tornado reports were logged on 31 storm days across 36 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Pawnee County, NE on May 12, 2023. The most hail reports came on May 7, 2023 (303). Tornadoes killed 1. Radar estimated hail of 1 inch or larger on 31 days; the widest swath, on May 7, 2023, covered 6,884 square miles.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports; NOAA MRMS radar hail estimates (MESH) via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Data through November 6, 2026. Methodology
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Source: National Storms (nationalstorms.com), CC BY 4.0, data from NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports.
Biggest storm days of May 2023
| Day | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail | States | Radar 1″+ area | Radar max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2023 | 303 | 175 | 13 | 3.25″ | 16 | 6,884 mi² | 4.65″ |
| May 9, 2023 | 200 | 116 | 4 | 4.00″ | 16 | 6,460 mi² | 3.43″ |
| May 16, 2023 | 45 | 193 | 4 | 2.50″ | 14 | 518 mi² | 2.52″ |
| May 6, 2023 | 154 | 72 | 10 | 4.00″ | 11 | 6,449 mi² | 4.40″ |
| May 12, 2023 | 83 | 58 | 34 | 4.50″ | 11 | 3,001 mi² | 3.01″ |
| May 8, 2023 | 115 | 47 | 2 | 2.75″ | 17 | 3,484 mi² | 2.92″ |
| May 11, 2023 | 49 | 66 | 32 | 2.50″ | 13 | 700 mi² | 2.58″ |
| May 10, 2023 | 101 | 32 | 9 | 4.00″ | 16 | 2,261 mi² | 2.70″ |
| May 5, 2023 | 69 | 62 | 2 | 3.25″ | 5 | 2,291 mi² | 3.58″ |
| May 30, 2023 | 65 | 42 | 1 | 1.75″ | 10 | 1,727 mi² | 2.57″ |
Largest hail reported in May 2023
| Day | Size | Location |
|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2023 | 4.50″ (softball) | Pawnee County, NE |
| May 6, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Harrison County, MO |
| May 6, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Daviess County, MO |
| May 6, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Daviess County, MO |
| May 6, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Grundy County, MO |
| May 9, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Pawnee County, KS |
| May 10, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Morgan County, CO |
| May 12, 2023 | 4.00″ (grapefruit) | Richardson County, NE |
| May 25, 2023 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Quay County, NM |
| May 26, 2023 | 3.50″ (teacup) | Torrance County, NM |
Storm reports by state, May 2023
| State | Hail | Wind | Tornado | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 347 | 179 | 10 | 3.30″ |
| Kansas | 196 | 112 | 20 | 4.00″ |
| Nebraska | 135 | 69 | 30 | 4.50″ |
| Iowa | 146 | 51 | 19 | 2.75″ |
| Missouri | 119 | 57 | 4 | 4.00″ |
| Illinois | 93 | 74 | 6 | 3.25″ |
| New Mexico | 100 | 55 | 9 | 3.50″ |
| Colorado | 126 | 17 | 14 | 4.00″ |
| Oklahoma | 74 | 30 | 15 | 2.75″ |
| Kentucky | 32 | 72 | 2 | 2.50″ |
| North Carolina | 31 | 62 | 1 | 2.00″ |
| South Dakota | 67 | 13 | 3 | 2.75″ |
| Mississippi | 12 | 61 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Wyoming | 50 | 13 | 4 | 1.75″ |
| Virginia | 5 | 58 | 3 | 1.25″ |
| Alabama | 16 | 49 | 0 | 2.00″ |
| Florida | 26 | 33 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Tennessee | 23 | 32 | 0 | 1.00″ |
| Louisiana | 0 | 40 | 6 | – |
| Idaho | 16 | 21 | 3 | 1.75″ |
| Minnesota | 29 | 2 | 5 | 1.25″ |
| South Carolina | 19 | 16 | 0 | 2.25″ |
| Georgia | 15 | 17 | 0 | 2.50″ |
| Indiana | 17 | 5 | 6 | 3.00″ |
| Utah | 3 | 22 | 0 | 1.25″ |
| Arkansas | 6 | 15 | 2 | 1.00″ |
| North Dakota | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Montana | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2.75″ |
| Oregon | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| Nevada | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1.50″ |
| Washington | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1.75″ |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1.75″ |
| Arizona | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1.50″ |
| California | 0 | 2 | 2 | – |
| West Virginia | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |
| Ohio | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.75″ |
Every storm day in May 2023
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.