Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 18, 7:42 AM CST
- Where
- Franklin County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.450, -93.770
Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 18, 1981
12 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $255,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 18
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Event by event
12 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Ouachita
- When
- May 18, 11:40 AM CST
- Where
- Ouachita County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.400, -93.070
Thunderstorm Wind, Ashley
- When
- May 18, 11:40 AM CST
- Where
- Ashley County
- Coordinates
- 33.230, -91.820
Hail, Columbia
- When
- May 18, 1:35 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.100, -93.470
Tornado, Columbia
- When
- May 18, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 10.2 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 33.030, -93.080
Tornado, Union
- When
- May 18, 3:25 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 8.8 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 33.080, -92.920
Hail, Union
- When
- May 18, 3:37 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.150, -92.730
Tornado, Union
- When
- May 18, 3:49 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 27 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 33.200, -92.680
Hail, Union
- When
- May 18, 3:54 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.220, -92.820
Hail, Union
- When
- May 18, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.150, -92.670
Hail, Columbia
- When
- May 18, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia County
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.150, -93.370
Hail, Ashley
- When
- May 18, 5:20 PM CST
- Where
- Ashley County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.230, -92.050
Hail, Cleburne
- When
- May 18, 6:15 PM CST
- Where
- Cleburne County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.580, -92.170
Hail, Union
- When
- May 18, 6:18 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.220, -92.670
Thunderstorm Wind, Union
- When
- May 18, 6:28 PM CST
- Where
- Union County
- Coordinates
- 33.120, -92.770
Hail, Columbia
- When
- May 18, 6:45 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia County
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.200, -93.320
Hail, Cleburne
- When
- May 18, 6:55 PM CST
- Where
- Cleburne County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.500, -92.030
Thunderstorm Wind, Lonoke
- When
- May 18, 9:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lonoke County
- Coordinates
- 34.970, -92.020
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, May 18, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 18, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Kentucky, May 18, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Alabama, May 18, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, May 18, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, May 18, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 18, 1981
- Hail in Tennessee, May 18, 1981
More
Every storm in Arkansas in 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Arkansas, 1981
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9982453, 9982454, 9982455, 9982456, 9982457, 9982458, 9982459, 9982460, 9982461, 9982462, 9982463, 9982464, 9982465, 9982466, 9982467, 9982468, 9982469, 9982470.