Hail, Middlesex
- When
- May 1, 5:59 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Holliston
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.200, -71.430
Hail in Massachusetts, May 1, 1997
Thunderstorms moved in from the southwest during the early evening and one particular thunderstorm cell produced the first significant convective weather event of the season. Dime size hail was reported in extreme southeast Worcester County in the town of Milford, as reported by the local police.
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
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 BOX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved in from the southwest during the early evening and one particular thunderstorm cell produced the first significant convective weather event of the season. Dime size hail was reported in extreme southeast Worcester County in the town of Milford, as reported by the local police. In Middlesex County, spotters in Holliston reported dime to nickel size hail. Nickel size hail also fell in Newton. The largest hailstones (the size of golf balls) were reported by the spouse of a National Weather Service employee in Lexington. Golfball hail also was reported in Waltham. There were no reports of damage.
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:00 UTC.
Event by event
5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Worcester
- When
- May 1, 5:59 PM EST
- Where
- Worcester County, Milford
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.150, -71.520
Hail, Middlesex
- When
- May 1, 6:09 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Newton
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.350, -71.220
Hail, Middlesex
- When
- May 1, 6:11 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Weston
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.370, -71.270
Hail, Middlesex
- When
- May 1, 6:14 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Lexington to Waltham
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.450, -71.230
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
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 1 to 29, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 1, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, May 1, 1997
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 1997
- Flooding in Idaho, May 1 to 31, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Ohio, May 1 to 31, 1997
- Flooding in Montana, May 1 to 31, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 1, 1997
- Flooding in Louisiana, May 1 to 9, 1997
- Flooding in Texas, May 1 to 9, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, May 1, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, May 1, 1997
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, May 1997
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: 5608359, 5608360, 5608361, 5608362, 5608363.