Central Tornado Outbreak
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $3.5 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($3.4 billion at the time) and 16 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 178 most significant severe storm episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $3.5 billion
- Losses at the time
- $3.4 billion
- Deaths
- 16
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 101 | 6 | 20 | $112 million |
| Oklahoma | 100 | 2 | 23 | $50 million |
| Texas | 191 | 7 | 80 | $24 million |
| Missouri | 281 | 2 | 6 | $19 million |
| Illinois | 131 | 0 | 1 | $11 million |
| Nebraska | 126 | 0 | 0 | $7.1 million |
| Kentucky | 285 | 4 | 23 | $6.9 million |
| Kansas | 99 | 0 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| Virginia | 115 | 1 | 6 | $1.8 million |
| Indiana | 46 | 0 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| Tennessee | 114 | 0 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| Colorado | 6 | 1 | 3 | $1.1 million |
| West Virginia | 150 | 0 | 2 | $870,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 58 | 0 | 0 | $498,000 |
| Georgia | 138 | 0 | 2 | $429,000 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 0 | 0 | $404,000 |
| Iowa | 175 | 0 | 0 | $292,000 |
| North Carolina | 105 | 1 | 0 | $265,000 |
| Mississippi | 42 | 0 | 0 | $254,000 |
| Ohio | 39 | 0 | 0 | $250,000 |
| Michigan | 3 | 0 | 0 | $200,000 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 0 | 0 | $191,000 |
| Maryland | 26 | 0 | 0 | $187,000 |
| Alabama | 75 | 1 | 0 | $103,000 |
| New York | 6 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| South Carolina | 36 | 0 | 1 | $4,000 |
| South Dakota | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Utah | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Episode by episode
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 23, 2024A few discrete supercells developed late in the afternoon through the early evening hours on May 23rd along an advancing dryline from North Central Texas into East Texas. These thunderstorms developed in an environment with steep mid-level lapse rates ranging from 7-8 C/km.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 23, 2024An upper trough coupled with a strong jet streak allowed for a severe thunderstorm to produce damaging winds and large hail in southwest North Carolina.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 23, 2024In the evening hours of the 23rd, a few storm cells fired off of a cold front coming in from the northwest. As the evening progressed, the scattered storms formed a well organized line of storms.
- Hail in Kansas, May 23, 2024A storm over the Flint Hills briefly produced some half dollar size hail in Americus before falling apart.
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Kansas, May 23, 2024A strong cold front moved across Northwest Kansas producing high winds along and south of I-70 in addition to a line of thunderstorms that moved along the Nebraska state line.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 23 to 24, 2024Extensive line of thunderstorms brings broad swaths of damaging winds, along with a few tornadoes, to portions of south central Nebraska during the late evening hours of May 23rd into the early morning hours of May 24th.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 23 to 25, 2024Upper-air analysis showed a trough over the northern Rockies the evening of May 23rd. That night, this trough ejected out into the central and northern Great Plains. At the surface, a low-pressure developed in western South Dakota.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 24, 2024Shortly after midnight, supercells developed over northern Missouri, producing large hail. Then later in the morning, a squall line moved eastward out of WFO Omaha's area and into NW Missouri, producing some measured wind gusts up to 65 mph and thunderstorm wind damage.
- Hail in Iowa, May 24, 2024Scattered thunderstorms developed in the early overnight hours across northwest Iowa ahead of a well-organized linear mesoscale convective system (MCS).
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 24, 2024A strong low level jet surging into the region, paired with increasing warm air and moisture advection into the morning hours of May 24th, led to the development of a line of showers and storms (QLCS) in Nebraska, which then swept across Iowa.
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, May 24 to 25, 2024An upper level disturbance and stationary front at the surface provided a focus for rounds of showers and storms on May 24th. Locally heavy rain fell across portions of West Virginia, which had already been saturated by rounds of rain the previous day.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, May 24, 2024Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along the Middle Red River Valley during the early morning hours on May 24th. These thunderstorms intensified in vicinity of deeper theta-e advection via the low-level jet on the southern fringe of a residual cold pool.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 24 to 25, 2024Upper-air analysis showed a trough over the northern Rockies the evening of May 23rd. That night, this trough ejected out into the central and northern Great Plains. At the surface, a low-pressure developed in western South Dakota.
- Tornado and Hail in Arkansas, May 24, 2024Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along the Middle Red River Valley during the early morning hours on May 24th. These thunderstorms intensified in vicinity of deeper theta-e advection via the low-level jet on the southern fringe of a residual cold pool.
- Tornadoes in Iowa, May 24, 2024A strong QLCS moved across central Iowa during the early morning hours of May 24 producing widespread wind damage and five tornadoes.
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 24, 2024A line of thunderstorms moved across southern Minnesota during the early morning of May 24, 2024. Trees were snapped and the dugout at the baseball field was damaged in Waldorf MN.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 24, 2024A long-lasting complex of severe thunderstorms, known as a derecho, tracked from central Nebraska through northwest Illinois during the late night hours May 23rd, to the morning of May 24th. This resulted in frequent wind damage reports and embedded tornadoes.
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 24, 2024During the early morning hours on May 24th, a line of thunderstorms moved through northeast Iowa producing high wind gusts with Charles City reporting a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 24, 2024A long-lasting complex of severe thunderstorms, known as a derecho, tracked from central Nebraska through northwest Illinois during the late night hours May 23rd, to the morning of May 24th. This resulted in frequent wind damage reports and embedded tornadoes.
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 24, 2024Scattered severe thunderstorms associated with a surface trough produced damaging winds across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, May 24, 2024An active storm pattern as several mid-level shortwaves crossed the region. An MCV lifted east northeast out of the Ozarks across southern Arkansas. The MCV fired up morning convection across the Mid-South with isolated storm coverage in the afternoon.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Illinois, May 24, 2024On the morning of May 24th a low pressure system was located over the eastern Dakotas, with Illinois positioned in the warm sector. Over the course of the day, several rounds of thunderstorms occurred. First, a squall line tracked across Iowa and reached Illinois by the morning.
- Flash Flood in Maryland, May 24, 2024Scattered thunderstorms associated with a surface trough produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, May 24, 2024An active storm pattern as several mid-level shortwaves crossed the region. An MCV lifted east northeast out of the Ozarks across southern Arkansas. The MCV fired up morning convection across the Mid-South with isolated storm coverage in the afternoon.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 24, 2024Scattered strong thunderstorms moved through portions of northwestern Arkansas during the morning of the 24th, the strongest of which produced hail up to penny size.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 24, 2024Scattered thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the late morning and afternoon of May 24th. High winds developed across parts of east central Illinois during the afternoon and continued into the early evening.
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, May 24, 2024Scattered thunderstorms associated with a surface trough produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central Virginia and the Virginia Northern Neck.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 24, 2024A weak surface boundary centered across north central North Carolina was the focus for isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Ample surface heating and modest moisture return was in place, which aided in thunderstorm development.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 24, 2024Discrete thunderstorms developed in the late morning of May 24th in the free warm sector ahead of an approaching cold front. Portions of south central Illinois received multiple rounds of thunderstorms as they kept redeveloping behind ongoing convection.
- Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 2024An area of thunderstorms moved through the region during the afternoon through early evening hours. Some of the storms became severe, producing damaging wind gusts, with winds of up to nearly 70 mph, and hail up to golf ball size.
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 24, 2024Isolated severe thunderstorm associated with a surface trough produced damaging winds across portions of central Virginia.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 24, 2024Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours across portions of southeast South Carolina. These storms produced several instances of large hail and damaging wind gusts through the late afternoon hours.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 24, 2024An isolated severe storm slowly moved through the La Porte area with quarter size hail mid afternoon.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 24, 2024Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours across portions of southeast Georgia. These storms produced several instances of large hail and damaging wind gusts through the late afternoon hours.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 24 to 25, 2024A decaying Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) from the morning of May 24 over Tennessee produced an outflow boundary that sparked additional thunderstorm activity during the afternoon over Central Alabama. One of these storms produced quarter-size hail over Tuscaloosa County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 24, 2024A decaying Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) pushed north into Indiana during the late afternoon hours of May 24th and interacted with a line of thunderstorms moving across Illinois. Initially these storms produced pockets of damaging winds with widespread sub-severe winds.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 24 to 25, 2024Isolated thunderstorms developed across western North Carolina from late afternoon on the 24th until the early morning hours of the 25th. A couple of the storms produced brief severe weather.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 24, 2024Discrete thunderstorms developed in the late morning of May 24th in the free warm sector ahead of an approaching cold front. One thunderstorm produced large hail and damaging wind in central Missouri. Later in the evening, a supercell produced large hail in Jefferson County.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Missouri, May 24, 2024An upper level low pressure system originated over the Dakotas before pivoting and becoming negatively tilted during the early morning hours on May 24, 2024.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 24, 2024An active storm pattern as several mid-level shortwaves crossed the region. An MCV lifted east northeast out of the Ozarks across southern Arkansas. The MCV fired up morning convection across the Mid-South with isolated storm coverage in the afternoon.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 24, 2024Isolated thunderstorms developed over upstate South Carolina during the late afternoon and evening. A couple of the storms produced brief severe weather.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 24, 2024Isolated thunderstorms developed over north Georgia during the afternoon and evening. One severe storm produced large hail and brief damaging wind gusts in Elbert County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 24, 2024The 24th represented a break in severe weather potential for much of the WFO Norman Forecast Area. The exception was across far southern into southeastern Oklahoma, where multiple supercell thunderstorms developed along a trailing surface cold front.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 24, 2024Several rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms developed in Central Georgia moving into the CSRA during the afternoon and evening hours.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 24, 2024A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed across the Middle Red River Valley late in the afternoon through the evening hours on May 24th.
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, May 24, 2024Outflow from thunderstorms in the area resulted in a possible gustnado.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 24 to 25, 2024With yet another strong occluded low located across the north-central Conus, and a cold front stretching southward through the Mississippi Valley, Kentucky found itself in a warm and unstable airmass.
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 24, 2024A line of thunderstorms entered northwestern Kentucky during the overnight hours, continuing through the Northern Pennyrile. The strongest storm went near the town of Hanson in Hopkins County, doing substantial wind damage to the Otter Lake area with numerous trees down.
- Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 25, 2024Severe thunderstorms moved across southeast Arkansas and produced damaging wind gusts.
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 25, 2024Strong to severe thunderstorms producing damaging winds and heavy rainfall very quickly moved east during the early morning hours into the mid morning hours.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 25, 2024A scattered line of thunderstorms moved through Central GA during the morning and early afternoon hours. A few imbedded thunderstorms became strong with gusty and damaging winds.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Texas, May 25 to 26, 2024Another round of dryline-induced convection took place the night of May 25 as a shortwave trough moved overhead. Thunderstorms were more isolated in nature, but one ambitious supercell produced multiple tornadoes the evening of May 25th.
- Tornado and Hail in Pennsylvania, May 25, 2024A passing shortwave trough and an advancing cold front worked with ample levels of instability and shear to initiate thunderstorms over eastern Ohio around midday on May 25th.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 25, 2024A line of thunderstorms entered the northern portion of the CSRA causing damage. Later in the day, pulse convection caused additional damage in the Eastern Midlands.
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 25, 2024A line of thunderstorms entered the northern portion of the CSRA causing damage.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 25 to 26, 2024Far-northeast OH resided in the warm/moist sector of an occluded surface low centered near the border of southeastern MB and ON during the early afternoon through early evening of the 25th. Simultaneously, a cold front drifted eastward across far-eastern OH.
- Damaging Winds in Colorado, May 25, 2024Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a weak cold front and low pressure trough that tracked across northeast Utah and northwest Colorado.
- Damaging Wind in Utah, May 25, 2024A shortwave trough and associated cold front moved through the region, resulting in isolated reports of strong and damaging wind gusts. Additionally, reports and pictures were received of a funnel cloud in central Utah.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Colorado, May 25, 2024Thunderstorms moved across the mountains and plains producing gusty winds up to 65 mph, though mostly less than 55 mph. A lightning strike killed a 51 year old man while he was feeding his herd. In addition, 34 cattle were killed as well.
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 25, 2024Scattered thunderstorms developed over western North Carolina during the afternoon. One of the storms produced brief damaging wind gusts in Caldwell County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 25, 2024An isolated severe storm moved southeastward through portions of Coffee and Dale counties with large hail and wind damage to trees and power lines reported.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Georgia, May 25 to 28, 2024Multiple rounds of severe storms impacted portions of southern Georgia during the May 25-28 period. Large hail and damaging wind gusts were reported, along with a few reports of flash flooding.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 25 to 28, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed mainly south of U.S. Interstate 20 due to strong instability and strong wind shear. The severe storms produced large hail and damaging winds.
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, May 25, 2024An isolated storm in Florence, South Carolina downed a few trees.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 25, 2024Clusters of thunderstorms developed across southeast Georgia during the afternoon hours and steadily tracked to the southeast toward the coast. These storms produced a few reports of large hail and damaging wind gusts.
- Hail in Ohio, May 25, 2024A passing shortwave trough and an advancing cold front worked with ample levels of instability and shear to initiate thunderstorms over eastern Ohio around midday on May 25th.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 25, 2024Severe thunderstorms moved across the state of Mississippi and produced damaging wind gusts and hail.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, May 25, 2024A severe weather outbreak impacted portions of western Oklahoma and western-north Texas during the afternoon into evening of the 25th.
- Damaging Wind in Utah, May 25, 2024Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a weak cold front and low pressure trough that tracked across northeast Utah and northwest Colorado.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Oklahoma, May 25, 2024A severe weather outbreak impacted portions of western Oklahoma and western-north Texas during the afternoon into evening of the 25th.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 25, 2024A disturbance aloft combined with a lee trough over western North Carolina led to isolated to scattered showers and storms over the Piedmont, Sandhills, and Coastal Plain in the early evening hours.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 25, 2024Hail and wind 05/25.
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 25, 2024An isolated thunderstorm produced localized damaging wind gusts over portions of western Maryland.
- Hail in Kansas, May 25, 2024Scattered thunderstorms, including intense supercells, produce large to very large hail and locally heavy rainfall over portions of north central Kansas during the evening hours of May 25th.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in West Virginia, May 25 to 26, 2024A passing shortwave trough and an advancing cold front worked with ample levels of instability and shear to initiate thunderstorms over eastern Ohio around midday on May 25th.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 25 to 26, 2024Rich low level moisture rapidly lifted north across the Plains on Saturday May 25th with storms initially developing along a developing dryline across western Oklahoma. One particular storm gained strength as it tracked north of the Oklahoma/Kansas border.
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 25, 2024A cluster of thunderstorms developed in the early evening hours and tracked southeastward along the Santee River. The storm produced a swath of wind damage between Bonneau and Jamestown, north of Highway 17, in Berkeley County.
- Hail in Nebraska, May 25, 2024Showers and storms formed east of the Front Range during the mid to late afternoon hours on May 25th. These thunderstorms then ejected an outflow boundary across the area leading to some reports of winds in excess of 55 mph.
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 25, 2024A passing mid short wave trough enough lift along the pinned east coast sea breeze which produced strong to severe storms during the early evening over a moist and unstable airmass.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 25, 2024Line of storms moves across north-central Kansas, with other storms to the south across central and east-central Kansas.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 25 to 26, 2024On May 25th, a swath of downed trees occurred across north-central West Virginia as passing disturbances provided support to a nearby stalled frontal boundary. Scattered showers and storms arrived into the state from the west and grew to become strong to severe.
- Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 25, 2024During the late evening hours of May 25th, a storm brought severe wind gusts to portions of Miami and Johnson County. On the western edge of the storm, wind gusts as high as 84 mph were measured. These could technically be considered non thunderstorm gusts.
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 25, 2024During the late evening hours of May 25th, a storm brought severe wind gusts to portions of Cass and Jackson County. Initially this storm had a wind surge with 60 to 70 mph winds.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 25 to 26, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed over western Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 25th, along a sharpening dry line, and moved east across Oklahoma through the evening and into the early morning hours of the 26th.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in West Virginia, May 26, 2024During the early morning hours of May 26th, parts of northern West Virginia were observing flash flooding as the result thunderstorms that produced heavy downpours the previous evening.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 26, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed over western Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 25th, along a sharpening dry line, and moved east across Oklahoma during the evening, and across northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 26th.
- Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 26, 2024A shortwave trough approached southeast Kansas on May 25, 2024, priming the atmosphere for moderate instability and sufficient deep layer shear.
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 26, 2024A strong dynamic environment and low level jet helped ongoing convection in the Plains and western Missouri keep its strength as it propagated east into the forecast area.
- Hail in Iowa, May 26, 2024An increasing low level jet into the morning of May 26, along with increasing moisture return ahead of a warm front over Missouri led to the development of scattered but elevated showers and thunderstorms across much of Iowa.
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, May 26, 2024Scattered thunderstorms associated with low pressure and a surface trough produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central and eastern Virginia.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 26 to 27, 2024On the morning of May 26, a stationary front had set up along the Ohio River just north of the state. During the course of the day, this front slowly lifted northward as a warm front, as a low pressure system began to develop and take shape just west of the state.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Missouri, May 26, 2024A shortwave trough approached the Missouri Ozarks on May 25, 2024, priming the atmosphere for moderate instability and sufficient deep layer shear.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 26, 2024A couple long-tracked supercells moved across the northern two to three rows of counties during the predawn hours of the Memorial Day weekend. These storms triggered numerous tornadoes, some of which strong and long-lived, in addition to widespread straight-line wind damage.
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, May 26 to 27, 2024Flash flooding was observed across central Ashe County, including in the Towns of West Jefferson and Warrensville, due to heavy runoff from about three inches of rain falling within one hour per multiple personal weather stations within the area.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 26 to 28, 2024The second major severe weather outbreak for the month occurred on the 26th for the Quad State region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave trough centered in the middle of the country with a 60 kt mid-level jet moved across northern Arkansas.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Arkansas, May 26, 2024A shortwave trough pushed into the Mid-South during the early morning hours. A very moist and unstable air mass provided plenty of fuel for the trough to initiate convection.
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 26, 2024A strong dynamic environment and low level jet kept ongoing convection strong and at times severe as it propagated through the forecast area during the early morning hours of May 26th.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Tennessee, May 26 to 27, 2024A shortwave trough pushed into the Mid-South during the early morning hours. A very moist and unstable air mass provided plenty of fuel for the trough to initiate convection.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 26, 2024A shortwave trough pushed into the Mid-South during the early morning hours. A very moist and unstable air mass provided plenty of fuel for the trough to initiate convection.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kentucky, May 26 to 27, 2024The second major severe weather outbreak for the month occurred on the 26th for the Quad State region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave trough centered in the middle of the country with a 60 kt mid-level jet moved across northern Arkansas.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Illinois, May 26, 2024The second major severe weather outbreak for the month occurred on the 26th for the Quad State region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave trough centered in the middle of the country with a 60 kt mid-level jet moved across northern Arkansas.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Tennessee, May 26 to 27, 2024Multiple rounds of thunderstorms impacted Middle Tennessee on May 26, 2024, and into the 27th. The first round of thunderstorms that moved through the area during the morning of the 26th was the strongest, producing damaging winds and very large hail.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 26 to 27, 2024A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on May 26th and into the early morning hours of May 27th, 2024.
- Tornado and Hail in Indiana, May 26, 2024Two rounds of thunderstorms impacted central Indiana during the Sunday before Memorial day with a quick microburst in the morning followed by a QLCS tornado across Knox county followed by a swath of thunderstorm winds.
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 26, 2024A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on May 26th and into the early morning hours of May 27th, 2024. While southern Indiana was spared the brunt of the severe straight-line winds and tornadoes, sporadic wind damage did occur along the Ohio River.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 26, 2024A line of thunderstorms lifted northeast across the Ohio Valley during the early afternoon hours.
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Tennessee, May 26 to 27, 2024An upper trough, a shortwave, and a cold front combined in a potent environment to produce several rounds of severe thunderstorms in East Tennessee, producing large hail, damaging wind gusts, and some flash flooding.
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 26, 2024A line of thunderstorms lifted northeast across the Ohio Valley during the early afternoon hours.
- Hail in South Dakota, May 26, 2024A severe thunderstorm developed along the eastern slopes of the Black Hills and tracked east-southeast across the west central South Dakota plains. The storm produced large hail to ping pong ball size and a funnel cloud near Kyle as the storm was weakening.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 26, 2024Scattered severe thunderstorms associated with low pressure and a surface trough produced damaging winds and large hail across portions of central and eastern Virginia.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 26, 2024On the afternoon of May 26th, a bowing line of thunderstorms pressed into eastern Kentucky and caused widespread tree and power line damage.
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 26 to 27, 2024An upper trough, a shortwave, and a cold front combined in a potent environment to produce several rounds of severe thunderstorms, bringing damaging winds to southwest Virginia.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 26, 2024On the afternoon of May 26th, a bowing line of thunderstorms pressed into southeast Ohio and caused widespread tree and power line damage.
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 26, 2024Strong thunderstorms that had a history of damaging wind gusts on the afternoon of May 26th passed through southwest Virginia and continued to create tree damage in its path.
- Hail in South Dakota, May 26, 2024A thunderstorm briefly became severe over far southeast Pennington County, producing hail up to golf ball size.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 26, 2024Numerous thunderstorms and storm clusters moved across western North Carolina during the afternoon and evening. Some storms produced severe weather in the form of isolated large hail and swaths of damaging wind gusts.
- Hail in Kansas, May 26, 2024Around 3 pm on May 26th, a supercell storm produced golf ball sized hail in Linn County, KS.
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 26, 2024Severe thunderstorms redeveloped across northeastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 26th, ahead of an approaching cold front.
- Hail in Missouri, May 26, 2024In the afternoon hours of May 26th, supercells produced large hail to portions of Bates and Henry Counties in the southern reaches of the WFO Pleasant Hill CWA. Baseball sized hail was reported east of Clinton.
- Tornado and Hail in Virginia, May 26, 2024A line of thunderstorms quickly progressed across southwest and central Virginia through the afternoon as an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) tracked from the Ohio Valley into the Mid Atlantic and Central Appalachians.
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 26, 2024Several reports of downed trees, power lines and tree limbs were received due to severe thunderstorm winds.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 26, 2024A second round of severe thunderstorms occurred during the afternoon and evening on May 26, 2024. Supercell thunderstorms initialized over central Missouri and spread southward as rapid destabilization occurred along and east of Highway 65.
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 26, 2024A line of thunderstorms quickly progressed across southeast West Virginia through the afternoon as an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) tracked from the Ohio Valley into the Mid Atlantic and Central Appalachians.
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 26, 2024A well-developed squall line cross the region during the late afternoon and early evening hours of May 26th.
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, May 26, 2024Thunderstorms in the vicinity of a warm front were generally below severe limits with recorded wind gusts below 55 mph. However, one storm caused tree and powerline damage in portion of Williams county.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, May 26, 2024During the afternoon and early evening of May 26, 2024, ten tornadoes touched down in the St. Louis metropolitan area and southwest Illinois from a mix of supercells and QLCS modes.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 26, 2024A line of thunderstorms quickly progressed across northwest North Carolina through the afternoon as an MCS (Mesoscale Convective System) tracked from the Ohio Valley into the Mid Atlantic and Central Appalachians.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 26 to 27, 2024An upper trough, a shortwave, and a cold front combined in a potent environment to produce several rounds of severe thunderstorms that produced large hail and damaging winds to southwest North Carolina.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 26, 2024Severe thunderstorms redeveloped across northeastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 26th, ahead of an approaching cold front. These storms moved across northwestern Arkansas during the early evening.
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, May 26, 2024On a Memorial Day Weekend-Sunday, a line of storms looped up into southern Wisconsin in the late afternoon/early evening hours and produced 3 long track but weak tornadoes across Rock and Jefferson counties.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 26, 2024During the afternoon and early evening of May 26, 2024, ten tornadoes touched down in the St. Louis metropolitan area and southwest Illinois from a mix of supercells and QLCS modes.
- Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 26, 2024A well-developed squall line cross the region during the late afternoon and early evening hours of May 26th.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 26, 2024Numerous thunderstorms and storm clusters moved across upstate South Carolina during the afternoon and evening. Some storms produced severe weather in the form of isolated large hail and brief damaging wind gusts.
- Hail in Georgia, May 26, 2024Scattered thunderstorms moved across northeast Georgia during the afternoon and evening. One of the storms produced large hail in Elbert County.
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 26, 2024A well-developed squall line cross the region during the late afternoon and early evening hours of May 26th.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 26, 2024A large thunderstorm complex resulted in numerous instances of damaging winds over much of the Mid-Atlantic during the evening hours. A tornado was confirmed to have touched down in portions of north-central Virginia.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 26, 2024A large thunderstorm complex resulted in numerous instances of damaging winds over much of the Mid-Atlantic during the evening hours.
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 26, 2024A large thunderstorm complex resulted in numerous instances of damaging winds over much of the Mid-Atlantic during the evening hours.
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 26, 2024A long-lived quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) with a history of producing wind damage pushed east-northeastward from the Ohio Valley into southwestern Pennsylvania during the late evening of May 26, 2024.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 26, 2024Supercell thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary from central Missouri into south-central Illinois along the I-70 corridor during the late afternoon and evening of May 26th.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 26, 2024The second major severe weather outbreak for the month occurred on the 26th for the Quad State region. On the synoptic scale, a shortwave trough centered in the middle of the country with a 60 kt mid-level jet moved across northern Arkansas.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 26, 2024A thunderstorm complex over the Middle Mississippi Valley in the morning tracked into the lower Ohio Valley and eastern Tennessee during the early afternoon.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 26, 2024On the evening of Sunday, May 26th, storms developed over northern Missouri on the backside of a surface low, moving northwest to southeast through the area, producing large hail and a few damaging wind gusts.
- Hail in Kansas, May 26, 2024Late in the evening on May 26th, storms on the backside of a surface low produced severe hail to Jarbolo in Leavenworth County and Olathe in Johnson County.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, May 27, 2024A line of storms from the previous day continued to roll through West Tennessee. There were a few reports of damaging wind before the line diminished.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, May 27, 2024Severe thunderstorms moved across the state of Louisiana and produced damaging wind gusts, and hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 27, 2024A shortwave trough pushed into the Mid-South during the early morning hours. A very moist and unstable air mass provided plenty of fuel for the trough to initiate convection.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 27, 2024Severe thunderstorms moved across the state of Mississippi and produced damaging wind gusts and hail.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Alabama, May 27, 2024A cluster of supercells developed around the Midnight hour and moved east as a line of thunderstorms in Tennessee dropped southeast. The two areas merged together and continued to move southeast. The thunderstorms produced damaging winds and large hail.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 27, 2024A line of thunderstorms moved across North and Central GA. Storms first started in Northeast GA during the morning hours and moved to the Southeast through the afternoon.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 27, 2024A weakening line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved into western North Carolina during the early morning hours in advance of a cold front. Isolated damaging wind gusts were reported.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, May 27, 2024A line of thunderstorms entered northern portions of Central Alabama after 4:30 AM CDT on May 27, producing scattered areas of wind damage and an embedded tornado in Cherokee County.
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 27, 2024A line of storms tracked from eastern Kentucky into northern Tennessee in the early morning hours, and then into southwest Virginia. An area of high instability remained west of the Blue Ridge, which allowed one storm to become severe.
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 27, 2024A weakening line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved into northeast Georgia during the early morning hours in advance of a cold front. Isolated damaging wind gusts were occurred in Rabun County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 27, 2024Isolated to scattered showers and storms ahead of a surface cold front draped over the Tennessee Valley developed early in the morning over the eastern Piedmont, Sandhills, and Coastal Plain.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 27, 2024A shortwave arrived into Iowa from the Dakotas on the afternoon of May 27th, with around 1000 J/kg of MUCAPE over the area.
- Damaging Wind in New York, May 27, 2024A passing shortwave trough and cold front, combined with low to moderate CAPE values and moderate to strong shear values caused strong to severe thunderstorms to develop, especially for the eastern half of the area.
- Hail in Minnesota, May 27, 2024Scattered thunderstorms developed in the afternoon of May 27, 2024. There was a report of 1 inch hail near Madison Lake in Blue Earth County with one of the strongest storms.
- Damaging Winds in New York, May 27, 2024A strong disturbance moved into the region leading to the development of showers and thunderstorms. There was limited instability yet significant wind shear, supportive of storm cells with damaging winds. A few of the thunderstorms became severe.
- Damaging Winds in New York, May 27, 2024During the afternoon of May 27th, a relatively strong pressure gradient created a low-level jet stream of >50 knots with portions of northern New York being in the warm, slightly unstable sector.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 27, 2024During the afternoon and evening hours of May 27th, a few severe storms moved through Iowa, Illinois, and northeast Missouri.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Maryland, May 27, 2024A couple of isolated thunderstorms produced localized wind damage and large hail, mainly over southern and western Maryland, and the eastern West Virginia panhandle.
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 27, 2024A single supercell produced wind damage in central Missouri. Damage was confined to trees and power lines.
- Lightning Strike in Puerto Rico, May 27, 2024Afternoon convection on May 27th over northwestern Puerto Rico produced cloud-to-ground lightning over Isabela, injuring three individuals.
- Hail in West Virginia, May 27, 2024A couple of isolated thunderstorms produced localized wind damage and large hail, mainly over southern and western Maryland, and the eastern West Virginia panhandle.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 27, 2024Scattered severe thunderstorms well in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds across portions of northeast North Carolina.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 27, 2024A cluster of thunderstorms developed and moved through Eastern NC during the afternoon into the early evening. Several storms became severe and produced damaging winds.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 27 to 30, 2024Thunderstorms affected portions of Mississippi on the 20th and 30th. Isolated damaging winds and flash flooding occurred.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 27, 2024A pair of isolated thunderstorms developed across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex along a stationary front which was draped across the area on the evening of May 27.
- Hail in Texas, May 27, 2024Thunderstorms developed along a dryline west of South-Central Texas and moved toward the east. Some of these storms produced large hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 27, 2024Scattered severe thunderstorms well in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds and large hail across portions of eastern and southeast Virginia.
- Hail in Alabama, May 27, 2024Severe storms moved across portions of Alabama on 5/27 producing large hail and strong wind gusts.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 27, 2024A cold front sparked scattered to numerous thunderstorms, a few of which became severe mainly over the northwestern suburbs of Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD.
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, May 27, 2024Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved through the area, where there was limited instability yet significant wind shear supportive of rotation in storm cells. A storm early in the evening did produce a brief tornado in West Damascus in Wayne County.
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, May 27, 2024During the afternoon and evening hours of May 27th, a few severe storms moved through Iowa, Illinois, and northeast Missouri.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 27, 2024A very hot and unstable airmass under steep mid level lapse rates of 7-8 degC/km and bulk shear of near 40-50 kts produced clusters of strong to severe storms in the late afternoon and evening as a short wave trough overhead.
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 27, 2024During the afternoon and evening hours of May 27th, a few severe storms moved through Iowa, Illinois, and northeast Missouri.
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, May 27, 2024A NWS storm survey confirmed that an EF1 tornado impacted Mahanoy City the evening of May 27, 2024. The estimated maximum wind speed was approximately 90mph, with a maximum path width of approximately 75 yards. The path length was just over 1.5 miles.
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Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2024Tornadoes in 2024
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.