Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 20, 4:45 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Turners Falls
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 42.600, -72.550
Hail in Massachusetts, May 20, 1998
Severe thunderstorms affected several towns in Franklin County and one town in Worcester County during the late afternoon and early evening. In Franklin County, trained spotters reported quarter size hail in North Leverett; dime size hail in Leverett and Northfield.
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.
Severe thunderstorms affected several towns in Franklin County and one town in Worcester County during the late afternoon and early evening. In Franklin County, trained spotters reported quarter size hail in North Leverett; dime size hail in Leverett and Northfield. An amateur radio operator reported dime size hail in the Turners Falls section of Greenfield. In Worcester County, a trained spotter reported dime size hail accumulating along the road in Royalston.
The radar
The Albany radar (KENX), 124 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:44 UTC.
Event by event
5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 20, 5:05 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, North Leverett
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.500, -72.480
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 20, 5:05 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Leverett
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.450, -72.500
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 20, 5:25 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Northfield
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.700, -72.620
Hail, Worcester
- When
- May 20, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- Worcester County, Royalston
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.680, -72.180
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
- Hail in Iowa, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 20, 1998
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 20 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Oklahoma, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Drought in Louisiana, May 20 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, May 1998
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: 5656163, 5656164, 5656165, 5656166, 5656167.