Hail in Florida, May 4, 1996

Name: Hail in Florida, May 4, 1996
Start: 1996-05-04T19:40
End: 1996-05-04T19:50
Location: Florida

May 4, 1996 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

S. Hail caused 90 to 100 percent of mostly cucumbers, bell peppers and green beens to be severely damaged.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $15 million
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.

Ping-pong sized hail produced a ten mile wide swath of significant crop damage from the Manatee county line north to the Wimauma/Balm area, mainly east of U.S. Highway 301, in south Hillsborough county.Hail caused 90 to 100 percent of mostly cucumbers, bell peppers and green beens to be severely damaged. Nearly 77 percent of the tomato crop was destroyed by the large hail.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Hillsborough

When: May 4, 7:40 PM EST to 7:50 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough County, Tampa to 19 mi SSE of Tampa
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Crop damage: $15 million
Coordinates: 27.780, -82.250

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, May 1996

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: 5574052.