Plains Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $2.3 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.7 billion at the time) and 2 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 142 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
- $2.3 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.7 billion
- Deaths
- 2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 105 | 2 | 4 | $9.3 million |
| Nebraska | 109 | 0 | 0 | $8.5 million |
| Tennessee | 82 | 0 | 1 | $8.2 million |
| Kentucky | 188 | 0 | 10 | $5.9 million |
| Missouri | 94 | 0 | 4 | $5.1 million |
| Kansas | 184 | 0 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| Arkansas | 37 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Texas | 223 | 0 | 1 | $887,000 |
| Illinois | 102 | 0 | 0 | $768,000 |
| Indiana | 50 | 0 | 0 | $255,000 |
| Colorado | 41 | 0 | 5 | $135,000 |
| South Carolina | 23 | 0 | 0 | $62,000 |
| West Virginia | 3 | 0 | 0 | $45,000 |
| Ohio | 20 | 0 | 0 | $35,000 |
| North Carolina | 24 | 0 | 0 | $28,000 |
| Alabama | 14 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Georgia | 7 | 0 | 0 | $21,000 |
| Iowa | 16 | 0 | 0 | $15,000 |
| Virginia | 28 | 0 | 0 | $11,000 |
| Mississippi | 5 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Nevada | 4 | 0 | 0 | $4,000 |
| Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | $2,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 4 | 0 | 0 | $1,000 |
| Wyoming | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Idaho | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Montana | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| American Samoa | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Flash Flood and Hail in Wyoming, May 6, 2016Thunderstorms produced large hail and torrential rainfall in Platte and Goshen counties. Flash flooding occurred in southeast Platte County.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Wyoming, May 7, 2016Rain on snowmelt produced flash flooding in southwest Converse County. A thunderstorm produced large hail in eastern Laramie County.
- Hail in Colorado, May 7, 2016A severe storm produced hail up to the size of ping pong balls in northern El Paso County.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 7, 2016Four tornadoes touched down, one over southern Weld county, one over northeastern Weld County and 2 across western Morgan county. The most significant tornado traveled from just south of I-76 over Weld county across Empire Reservoir and then to the west of Orchard.
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 7, 2016Strong to severe storms developed ahead of a cold front. There were numerous reports of damaging winds.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Colorado, May 7, 2016Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed over East Central Colorado along a warm front, with the storms and warm front moving north during the afternoon. Four tornadoes occurred with these storms during the afternoon, all of them in the Eckley and Wray area.
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 7, 2016Strong to severe storms developed ahead of a cold front. There were numerous reports of damaging winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 7, 2016A fast moving upper level system sparked a few rounds of strong to severe storms across central Kentucky during the late afternoon and evening hours. The main hazard was damaging winds and large hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 7, 2016A cold front interacting with an unstable and highly sheared environment triggered a line of strong to severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening of May 7th.
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 7, 2016A cold front approached the area later in the day on May 7th. A line of thunderstorms developed ahead of it in central Illinois down to near St. Louis during the afternoon hours.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 7, 2016A cluster of showers and thunderstorms developed in the afternoon near Louisville ahead of a cold front and upper level disturbance.
- Hail in Ohio, May 7, 2016A line of showers and thunderstorms moved across northern Ohio. A few of the stronger storms produced small hail.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nevada, May 7, 2016Another unseasonably cold Pacific storm system tapped into unseasonably high moisture levels and produced a rare May thunderstorm event over the Mojave Desert. A few storms produced flash flooding.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 7, 2016Scattered storms pushed across southwest portions of central Indiana during the evening of May 7th. The storms brought large hail and damaging straight line winds across Daviess and Knox counties.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 7, 2016A cold front approached the area later in the day on May 7th. A line of thunderstorms developed ahead of it in central Illinois down to near St. Louis during the afternoon hours.
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 7, 2016A cold front approached the area later in the day on May 7th. A line of thunderstorms developed ahead of it in central Illinois down to near St. Louis during the afternoon hours.
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 7, 2016A couple of severe thunderstorms formed in the unstable air in the vicinity of an air mass boundary situated along the Tennessee and Kentucky border northeast paralleling the Southwest Virginia border. The storms produced some isolated areas of damaging wind.
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 7, 2016A couple of severe thunderstorms formed in the unstable air in the vicinity of an air mass boundary situated along the Tennessee and Kentucky border northeast paralleling the Southwest Virginia border. The storms produced some isolated areas of damaging wind.
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 7, 2016A fast moving upper level system sparked a few rounds of strong to severe storms across southern Indiana during the late afternoon and evening hours. The main hazard was damaging winds and large hail.
- Hail in Ohio, May 7, 2016Clearing in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio allowed for an isolated pocket of higher instability to transition into northern Ohio, with convective initiation along the lake breeze ahead of an incoming shortwave.
- Hail in Kansas, May 7, 2016During the evening scattered strong to severe storms developed along a dry line and move north-northeast. The largest hail reported was baseball size near Gove.
- Hail in Nebraska, May 7, 2016Nickel size hail occurred in a couple locations over south central Nebraska on this Saturday evening. During the mid to late evening hours, a couple small arcs of thunderstorms developed over southwest and south central Nebraska, between Highways 83 and 183.
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 7, 2016A line of thunderstorms tracked into far southwestern Nebraska on the evening of May 7th. The line of storms produced a microburst which produced damage across southern portions of Grant in Perkins County. Winds were estimated between 80 and 90 MPH.
- Hail in Kansas, May 7, 2016Golf ball size hail occurred over Osborne County late on this Saturday evening. A few very isolated thunderstorms had been ongoing through the evening hours over western Kansas.
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 7, 2016There was a large cutoff low over the southwestern United States. A dryline was present across the Permian Basin. There was decent instability and good shear which contributed to thunderstorms developing across West Texas.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 8 to 9, 2016The dryline colliding with a moist and unstable airmass led to the development of severe thunderstorms. These supercell thunderstorms produced several reports of large hail and damaging winds across the region.
- Hail in Colorado, May 8, 2016A strong storm developed near Bethune during the middle of the afternoon ahead of a southeast moving cold front. The largest hail reported was nickel size.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, May 8, 2016With the help of an upper low, storms fired along the dryline in western Oklahoma on the 8th, with some of them becoming severe and producing flash flooding.
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 8, 2016Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the latter half of the afternoon over Northwest Kansas ahead of a dry line. One tornado was reported near Gove during the event. The largest hail reported was quarter size.
- Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, May 8, 2016A shortwave trough of low pressure, in association with an upper level low over the Central Rockies, approached western and north central Nebraska during the late afternoon hours of May 8th. Storms developed over southwestern Nebraska and became severe.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Puerto Rico, May 8, 2016Upper level trough combined with daytime heating and local effects to produce scattered showers with isolated thunderstorms over the north central, western interior and west sections of Puerto Rico.
- Hail in Texas, May 8, 2016With the help of an upper low, storms fired along the dryline in western Oklahoma on the 8th, with some of them becoming severe and producing flash flooding.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, May 8, 2016Hail up to the size of half dollar coins and some wind damage occurred on this Sunday afternoon and evening. Isolated storms began developing over Dawson County around 3 p.m. CST. Hail up to the size of half dollars was reported in Cozad.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 8, 2016An approaching short wave trough increased convergence along a front or old outflow boundary during the afternoon. The atmosphere had become very unstable in increasing threat-e air.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 8, 2016Ioslated supercell thunderstorms developed along a weak dry line across portions of Central Kansas during the late evening hours of May 8th, 2016. The supercells produced hail as large as golfballs.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, May 8 to 10, 2016Isolated thunderstorms developed over North Texas during the evening hours of May 8 and May 9 along a dryline, which was able to surge east into the area each afternoon. Some of these storms produced damaging winds and large hail, along with a few instances of flash flooding.
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 2016A line of slow moving thunderstorms developed along a warm front during the latter half of the afternoon over Red Willow county. During the development of one of the thunderstorms, a landspout formed northeast of Indianola.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 8 to 9, 2016Very large hail and a tornado occurred over north central Kansas on this Sunday afternoon and evening. Thunderstorms had developed over western Kansas by mid-afternoon and, by 5:30 p.m. CST, they began moving into north central Kansas.
- Hail in Idaho, May 8, 2016Over one inch hail was reported in Bonneville, Madison and Fremont Counties.
- Hail in Texas, May 9, 2016A dryline mixed east over the forecast area with an upper low pressure centered over the central Rockies. Good mid level support, instability and shear contributed to scattered storms that developed off the dryline.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Missouri, May 9 to 11, 2016A round of thunderstorms produced isolated reports of large hail and multiple reports of flash flooding due to heavy rainfall.
- Hail in Kansas, May 9, 2016A vigorous shortwave trough over eastern Colorado moved into the area at peak heating and the most unstable time of day.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Nebraska, May 9 to 10, 2016More to come.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Iowa, May 9 to 10, 2016Through the day, a previously stalled warm front slowly made its way northward into portions of west central and southern Iowa.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 9, 2016Supercell thunderstorms developed along a cold front/dry line boundary during the late afternoon and early evening of May 9th, 2016.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 9, 2016With the help of an upper low, storms fired along the dryline in central Oklahoma on the 9th, with some of them becoming severe.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, May 9, 2016Two tornadoes occurred along with hail up to the size of golf balls on this Monday afternoon. A few very isolated general thunderstorms developed across south central Nebraska beginning around 1:30 p.m. CST. However, storms did not become severe until after 3 p.m. CST.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Iowa, May 9 to 10, 2016Thunderstorms produced large hail in the Sioux City area on the late afternoon of May 9th, then produced heavy rain and flash flooding further northeast in northwest Iowa during the evening.
- Tornado and Flood in Kansas, May 9, 2016Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the afternoon across central Kansas. One weak tornado was reported in Clay County. These storms then pushed eastward before weakening and merging into a line of thunderstorms.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 9 to 12, 2016Severe thunderstorms brought hail and damaging winds to west, north and central Arkansas 5/9/16 to 5/12/16.
- Tornadoes in Illinois, May 9, 2016A weak disturbance ahead of a storm system in the southern plains spawned a couple of brief, weak tornadoes with an area of showers and thunderstorms in west central Illinois.
- Tornado in Iowa, May 9, 2016A weak disturbance ahead of a storm system in the southern plains spawned a brief, weak tornado with an area of showers and thunderstorms in southeast Iowa.
- Hail in Kansas, May 9, 2016Hail up to the size of golf balls occurred over parts of Jewell County on this Monday afternoon. A few very isolated general thunderstorms developed across north central Kansas beginning around 3 p.m. CST. Most storms were brief and not severe. However, shortly after 4 p.m.
- Hail in Missouri, May 9, 2016A storm in Atchison County Missouri produced a few quarter-sized hail stones, and an isolated half dollar-sized stone.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 9, 2016Severe thunderstorms developed along and ahead of a dry line across central Oklahoma during the afternoon of May 9th. The storms moved across eastern Oklahoma during the evening hours.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, May 9 to 10, 2016An upper level trough of low pressure, located over the Nebraska Panhandle migrated east during the late afternoon hours of May 9th. As this feature approached a surface trough of low pressure, thunderstorms developed and quickly became severe.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 9, 2016A volatile atmosphere was in place across the Southern Plains during the afternoon and evening hours of Monday, May 9th. Instability became moderate to high ahead of an upper level disturbance that moved out of the Intermountain West and into the Plains.
- Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 9, 2016A squall line of thunderstorms advanced east across Northeast Arkansas in the mid evening hours on 9 May. At times the line bowed out causing damaging winds.
- Tornado in Montana, May 9, 2016A large, slow-moving low pressure system from the west provided just enough instability and general convection to allow this one brief weak landspout to form in an open field in Sheridan County.
- Hail in Iowa, May 9, 2016More to come.
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 9, 2016A narrow squall line of thunderstorms evolved over south central Missouri and then moved rapidly east-northeast through the evening hours. Some of the storms were accompanied by damaging winds. This line of storms was related to the approach of an upper-level disturbance.
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 9, 2016Isolated storms developed over southeastern Missouri. One storm produced damaging winds.
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 9, 2016A squall line of thunderstorms tracked across the Bootheel of Missouri during the evening of 9 May. At times the line bowed out causing isolated areas of damaging winds.
- Hail and Heavy Rain in Kansas, May 9 to 11, 2016Isolated thunderstorms produced a report of large hail.
- Tornado in Arkansas, May 9, 2016A tornado moved through Saline County on May 9, 2016 and caused damage at several homes. It also uprooted or snapped numerous trees.
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 9, 2016A volatile atmosphere was in place across the Southern Plain during the afternoon and evening hours of Monday, May 9th. Instability became moderate to high ahead of an upper level disturbance that moved out of the intermountain west and into the plains.
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 10, 2016A passing upper level disturbance triggered a line of thunderstorms. A few of the storms were capable of damaging winds during the overnight hours of 9/10 May.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, May 10 to 11, 2016Thunderstorms produced mostly hail along with a little wind damage, and excessive rainfall on this Tuesday afternoon and evening.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 10, 2016An outbreak of supercells with large hail and isolated tornadoes affected western Kentucky during the afternoon and early evening. The initial round of thunderstorms occurred early in the afternoon over northwest Kentucky.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 10, 2016Showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours as a warm front lifted north across the region. The storms produced locally damaging wind gusts.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 10, 2016A warm moist air mass collided with several passing weather systems to spark rounds of strong to severe storms across central Kentucky during the afternoon and evening hours on May 10th.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 10, 2016Showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours as a warm front lifted north across the region. The storms produced locally damaging wind gusts.
- Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, May 10, 2016An isolated severe storm developed over western portions of Holt county on the afternoon of May 10th. This storm produced an EF0 tornado 1 mile north of Atkinson. Minor damage occurred to a windshield and garage.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 10 to 13, 2016The dryline resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms on May 10, while a cold front and a dryline interacting with an unstable atmosphere on May 11 resulted in severe storms. These storms produced several reports of large hail and damaging winds over a four day stretch.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Ohio, May 10, 2016An upper level shortwave crossing a stationary front in southern Ohio helped to initiate thunderstorms in the afternoon on the 10th. Where instability was at it's best, a few strong storms developed.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 10 to 11, 2016A weak cold front eased south to near the Red River area, and helped provide focus for thunderstorm development along with a continued active dryline. This ended up being more of a wind damage event, but several reports of hail were also received.
- Hail in Kansas, May 10, 2016A few severe thunderstorms were observed during the late afternoon.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 10, 2016A single severe thunderstorm developed over Northwest Kansas, moving northeast. Hail reports ranged from dime to quarter size with the storm. Estimated wind gust reports with the storm ranged from 60 to 70 MPH.
- Tornadoes in Illinois, May 10, 2016A few supercells with isolated tornadoes affected southern Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening. Strong westerly upper-level winds associated with an upper-level low over northern Illinois provided ample wind shear for supercells.
- Hail in Virginia, May 10, 2016A slowly decaying cloud shield set up a steep temperature gradient between Lynchburg and Danville Virginia, as a quasi-stationary front parked overhead. This boundary helped to initiate thunderstorm development in the mid to late afternoon hours.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kentucky, May 10, 2016Numerous severe thunderstorms struck eastern Kentucky during the late evening and overnight hours of May 10th and 11th 2016. The primary mode of damage was wind damage, mostly in the form of downed trees and large limbs.
- Flash Flood in Virginia, May 10, 2016An isolated slow-moving thunderstorm (which also produced some large hail) dropped radar estimated rainfall of 2 to 2.5 inches in a few hours which caused some roads to flood in the Scottsburg area of Halifax County.
- Hail in Virginia, May 10, 2016Scattered severe thunderstorms just north of a frontal boundary produced large hail across portions of south central Virginia.
- Hail in Kansas, May 10, 2016Funnel clouds and quarter size hail occurred in Phillips County on this Tuesday afternoon. Between 1 and 3 p.m. CST, a few showers developed over northwest Kansas. By 4 p.m., one of these showers intensified into a severe thunderstorm as it crossed Decatur and Norton Counties.
- Hail in Colorado, May 10, 2016A severe storm produced hail up to the size of half dollars in northern El Paso County. Much hail occurred which caused slippery roadways around Falcon.
- Hail in Tennessee, May 10, 2016Scattered thunderstorms developed in the early evening hours of 10 May along a trailing cold front in northwest Tennessee. A few storms were capable of producing sizeable hail.
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 10, 2016An upper level shortwave crossing a stationary front in southern Ohio helped to initiate thunderstorms in the afternoon on the 10th. Where instability was at it's best, a few strong storms developed.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, May 10 to 11, 2016The largest severe weather event of Spring 2016 across Middle Tennessee affected areas mainly north of I-40 from the late evening hours on May 10 into the morning hours on May 11.
- Flash Flood and Flood in Indiana, May 10 to 11, 2016A stationary front was located over northern Indiana with a influx of deep moisture present along with weak wind fields. A few showers and thunderstorms formed and drifted north, training over portions of southern Allen county.
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 10, 2016Storms formed out ahead of the dryline in central Texas on the 10th. A few of these storms wandered up into south central Oklahoma toward evening.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 10 to 11, 2016An east to west front was over the upper Ohio Valley from near the northern West Virginia border into the Midwest. The axis of a mid to upper level disturbance was over Illinois.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nebraska, May 10 to 11, 2016More to come.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 11, 2016A surface trough moved into a conditionally unstable atmosphere to form thunderstorms. Some of these storms produced large hail and damaging wind gusts.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 11, 2016A line of strong storms moved across north central Kansas producing small hail and wind gusts up to 70 mph.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 11, 2016A squall line of thunderstorms developed across portions of central Kansas during the early morning hours of May 11th. These storms moved eastward into east-central and northeast Kansas.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, May 11, 2016In the early morning hours on May 11, 2016 a few severe storms rolled through eastern Kansas and brought some gusty, damaging winds, some large hail, and some minor flash flooding.
- Flash Flood in American Samoa, May 11, 2016A surface trough combined with a seasonal trade-wind weather conditions have triggered numerous to frequent showers with locally heavy rainfall across American Samoa.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Kentucky, May 11, 2016A very warm and moist air mass collided with a passing weather system to bring a few rounds of severe thunderstorms to portions of central Kentucky. Damaging winds and large hail were the main impacts from these storms.
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 11, 2016The trailing end of a line of thunderstorms oriented from west-northwest to east-southeast became stationary over Todd County. Storm cells repeatedly trained eastward across the county for hours, producing significant flash flooding.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 11 to 12, 2016As a warm front lifted north through the forecast area, thunderstorms developed. Some of the storms became severe with numerous reports of large hail, some damaging winds and an EF2 tornado that occurred near Bourbon and Sullivan Missouri during the evening.
- Hail in South Carolina, May 11, 2016Scattered thunderstorms developed across the mountains during the early afternoon and moved southeast into the foothills. A few of the storms produced brief large hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 11, 2016An upper-level disturbance associated with a large cluster of thunderstorms that had developed over the Plains during the previous night tracked eastward and triggered additional strong to severe thunderstorms across central Illinois during the afternoon of May 11th.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 11, 2016Scattered thunderstorms developed across the mountains during the early afternoon and moved southeast into the foothills. A few of the storms produced brief large hail and damaging winds.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Illinois, May 11, 2016As a warm front lifted north through the forecast area, thunderstorms developed. Some of the storms became severe with numerous reports of large hail, some damaging winds and an EF2 tornado that occurred near Bourbon and Sullivan Missouri during the evening.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 11, 2016A cold front settled into North Georgia during the afternoon resulting in scattered strong thunderstorms with isolated severe thunderstorms.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 11, 2016After a brief recovery period from overnight convection, scattered showers and storms formed across the higher elevations of Virginia and West Virginia on May 11th thanks to a quasi-stationary boundary.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 11 to 12, 2016During the afternoon, multi-cell thunderstorm clusters developed along a warm front that was oriented from west to east along the Interstate 64 corridor. Surface dew points near and south of the front were in the lower 70's, which contributed to strong instability.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 11, 2016Following a small wave of severe thunderstorms in Kent and Stonewall Counties late this afternoon along a weak cold front and dryline, a second round of severe thunderstorms rolled southeast from the western Texas Panhandle late in the evening.
- Hail in North Carolina, May 11, 2016Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed along a remnant outflow boundary with the help of differential heating during the afternoon. One storm became severe, producing large hail.
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Indiana, May 11 to 12, 2016During the afternoon, multi-cell thunderstorm clusters developed along a warm front that was oriented from west to east along the Interstate 64 corridor. Surface dew points near and south of the front were in the lower 70's, which contributed to strong instability.
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 11, 2016A line of storms pushed across southern portions of central Indiana, while scattered storms pushed moved over central portions of the area during the evening hours of May the 11th. The storms brought damaging straight line winds to the region.
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Missouri, May 11 to 13, 2016During the afternoon, multi-cell thunderstorm clusters developed along a warm front that was oriented from west to east. Surface dew points near and south of the front were in the lower 70's, which contributed to strong instability.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 11, 2016A very warm and moist air mass collided with a passing weather system to bring a few rounds of severe thunderstorms to portions of southern Indiana. Damaging winds and large hail were the main impacts from these storms.
- Hail in Iowa, May 11, 2016Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed mid to late afternoon along a weak boundary. The strongest storms produced a few reports of large hail.
- Hail in North Carolina, May 11, 2016Scattered thunderstorms develop south of a front across eastern North Carolina during the evening of May 11th 2016. Some of the storms became strong producing dime sized hail.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 11, 2016Thunderstorms developed across the western Texas Panhandle during the afternoon of the 11th in an environment characterized by moderate instability and modest shear.
- Hail in Illinois, May 11, 2016Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed mid to late afternoon along a weak boundary. The strongest storms produced a single report of large hail.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 11 to 12, 2016Severe storms formed overnight on the 11th into the 12th behind a front as an upper level trough moved through the area.
- Flash Flood in Illinois, May 11 to 12, 2016Along and north of a slow moving warm front, storms continued to regenerate and train over portions of north central and northeast Illinois, generally along and near the I-88 and U.S. Highway 30 corridors.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, May 11 to 12, 2016Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours of May 11th along a cold that extended across southwestern Missouri and eastern Oklahoma. These storms moved eastward across the region into the early morning hours of the 12th.
- Damaging Winds in Texas, May 12, 2016Severe storms formed overnight on the 11th into the 12th behind a front as an upper level trough moved through the area.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arkansas, May 12, 2016Strong to severe thunderstorms developed during the evening hours of May 11th along a cold that extended across southwestern Missouri and eastern Oklahoma. These storms moved eastward across northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 12th.
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 12, 2016A passing upper level disturbance produced a broken line of thunderstorms across West Tennessee and Northeast Mississippi on the afternoon of May 12th. A few cells produced large hail and damaging winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 12, 2016A stalled front across North Carolina was the focus for strong|to severe thunderstorms across the central and northern Midlands.
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 12, 2016A few showers and thunderstorms developed in the unstable air mass ahead of a cold front during the afternoon. The convection became severe producing damaging wind across Central East Tennessee as well as a small part of Southwest Virginia.
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 12, 2016Isolated strong thunderstorms developed during midday across north Alabama. One storm knocked down a large tree limb in Madison County. During the mid to late afternoon, a broken line of thunderstorms developed in northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 12, 2016Strong destabilization west and south of a northeastward retreating front resulted in the development of showers and thunderstorms along the differential heating boundary.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 12, 2016Scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed across the mountains during early afternoon and pushed southeast across the foothills and Piedmont from mid afternoon into the evening. A couple of isolated severe storms occurred across the Piedmont.
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 12, 2016Numerous showers and thunderstorms moved across Middle Tennessee from the late morning hours into the evening on May 12. A few storms became severe with several reports of wind damage received.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 12, 2016Scattered thunderstorms developed across the mountains during early afternoon and pushed southeast across the foothills and Piedmont from mid afternoon into the evening. A couple of isolated severe storms produced large hail and locally damaging winds.
- Hail in South Carolina, May 12, 2016An impulse embedded in westerly flow aloft triggered storms across the Pee Dee. The environment was moderately unstable. Although there were many strong storms with frequent lightning, only a few briefly pulsed to severe levels.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 12, 2016A stationary front was draped across the Virginia and North Carolina state border during the afternoon of May 12th. Scattered showers and storms were triggered along this boundary, impacting portions of the Roanoke Valley.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 12, 2016A stationary front was draped across the Virginia and North Carolina state border during the afternoon of May 12th. Scattered showers and storms were triggered along this boundary, impacting portions of the Piedmont counties of northwest North Carolina.
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 12, 2016Showers and thunderstorms developed in association with a cold front moving through the region. Strong gusty winds occurred with some of these storms.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 12, 2016A passing upper level disturbance produced a broken line of thunderstorms across West Tennessee and Northeast Mississippi on the afternoon of May 12th. A few cells produced large hail and damaging winds.
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, May 12, 2016An isolated severe storm brought down a tree and several power lines near Albion on May 15th. No other severe weather was reported.
- Hail in North Carolina, May 12, 2016An impulse embedded in westerly flow aloft triggered storms across the Pee Dee of South Carolina. These storms moved east and interacted with the seabreeze boundary. The environment was moderately unstable.
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 12, 2016A few showers and thunderstorms developed in the unstable air mass ahead of a cold front during the afternoon. The convection became severe producing damaging wind across Central East Tennessee as well as a small part of Southwest Virginia.
- Hail in Kentucky, May 12, 2016A residual surface boundary draped near the Tennessee border combined with daytime instability and a passing cold front to spark a few strong to severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening hours May 12th.
- Hail in Michigan, May 12, 2016A broken line of strong thunderstorms crossed northern lower Michigan in the afternoon and early evening hours of the 12th. One storm produced penny-sized hail.
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 12, 2016Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms developed this afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front. Flash flooding was reported near and just southeast of McKee as nearly two inches of rain fell in a few hour period.
- Hail in Texas, May 12, 2016A cold front moved through South Central Texas and developed isolated thunderstorms. One of these storms produced large hail.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2016Tornadoes in 2016
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.