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Storm reports for May 15, 2018

NOAA recorded 152 hail reports, 370 wind reports and 12 tornado reports in 25 states on May 15, 2018.

in 25 states
534
Storm reports
About 27 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY
2.75 in
Largest hail
About 31 miles from Scranton, PA
115 mph
Highest gust
Highest rating EF2, about 18 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY
12
Tornado reports
Sources: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center reports; damage surveys from the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit

Hail, inches

  • 0.75
  • 1
  • 1.5
  • 2
  • 2.5
  • 3+

Dots: reports.

  • Wind report
  • Tornado and its path
  • Surveyed tornado path
  • Surveyed wind damage

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, final severe weather database (from NOAA's Storm Data). Report day: 12:00 UTC on May 15, 2018 to 12:00 UTC the next day. Times are Central.

Select a dot or a path for the report. NWS survey teams walked the shaded paths after the storm; each is drawn at the widest width they found, so it can look wider than the damage at any one spot.

What happened

On the afternoon of May 15, 2018, microbursts with winds estimated up to 115 mph struck Wayne County, Pennsylvania, between Waymart and Honesdale and near Calkins around 3:05 to 3:18 p.m. EDT, snapping power poles and damaging roofs, facades and barns.1 In Sullivan County, New York, 95 mph winds from Narrowsburg to Forestburgh brought trees down on at least 20 homes.1 A macroburst with winds near 110 mph then hit a swath about 3 miles wide and 9 miles long from New Fairfield to Brookfield, Connecticut, from 4:37 to 4:53 p.m. EDT.2 In Newburgh, New York, winds of 80 to 90 mph partly collapsed buildings and tore off roofs and siding. An EF2 tornado with 115 mph winds damaged roofs at a strip mall on Route 52 in Kent, New York, at 4:29 p.m.2 Falling trees killed five people in Orange and Rockland counties, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut.2 Tennis ball size hail smashed house windows and car windshields in Granby, Connecticut.3

In West Texas, wind-driven hail up to baseball size hit Crosbyton at about 5:05 p.m. CST, heavily damaging roofs and siding on many buildings and shattering most south-facing windows in town. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $500,000 in property damage.4 In Sullivan, Illinois, storm winds ripped roofs off several houses and knocked down a machine shed. The database lists $350,000 in damage.5

Reports by hour

Hail152, most at 6 PM

Wind370, most at 4 PM

Tornado12, most at 3 PM

Reports per hour, Central time. Each row has its own scale.

Every report

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center.

TimeRatingWherePath
1:29 PMEF1About 27 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY4.26 mi long, 175 yd wide
2:05 PMEF1About 20 miles from Scranton, PA0.22 mi long, 25 yd wide
2:44 PMEF1About 23 miles from Hartford, CT0.68 mi long, 175 yd wide
2:52 PMNot ratedAbout 18 miles from Hartford, CT0.39 mi long, 100 yd wide
3:15 PMEF1About 4 miles from Harrisburg, PA0.08 mi long, 40 yd wide
3:16 PMEF0About 12 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY0.64 mi long, 50 yd wide
3:29 PMEF2About 18 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY1.18 mi long, 100 yd wide
3:32 PMEF1About 22 miles from Poughkeepsie, NY2.92 mi long, 75 yd wide
3:53 PMEF1About 9 miles from Waterbury, CT3.67 mi long, 400 yd wide
4:01 PMEF1About 8 miles from Waterbury, CT7.36 mi long, 600 yd wide
4:37 PMEF0Near 39.46, -89.34, IL1.84 mi long, 25 yd wide
6:21 PMEF0About 57 miles from St. Louis, MO0.86 mi long, 50 yd wide

By state

StateReportsHailWindTornado
Pennsylvania10919882
New York10525764
Texas8948410
Connecticut645554
New Jersey330330
Oklahoma229130
Ohio207130
Illinois16592
Virginia122100
West Virginia11380
Colorado101000
Maryland10730
Arkansas8260
Mississippi5140
Kentucky3210
Massachusetts3210
Tennessee3030
Alabama2110
Florida2020
Rhode Island2020
Louisiana1010
Missouri1100
North Dakota1100
New Mexico1100
Utah1100

Cities with reports nearby

Reports within 15 miles of the center of each city we track.

CityLargest hailHighest gustTornado reports
Hartford, CT2.5 in55 mph0
Lubbock, TX1.5 inNone0
Springfield, MA1.5 in55 mph0
Bridgeport, CT1.0 in70 mph0
Colorado Springs, CO1.0 inNone0
Harrisburg, PA1.0 in68 mph1
Little Rock, AR1.0 in64 mph0
Poughkeepsie, NY1.0 in105 mph1
Roanoke, VA1.0 inNone0
York, PA1.0 in60 mph0
Columbus, OH0.88 in52 mph0
Salt Lake City, UT0.88 inNone0
Scranton, PA0.75 in69 mph0
Baltimore, MDNone58 mph0
Birmingham, ALNone58 mph0
Boston, MANone46 mph0
Gainesville, FLNone52 mph0
Knoxville, TNNone58 mph0
Lancaster, PANone60 mph0
New Haven, CTNone81 mph1
New York, NYNone81 mph0
Norwich, CTNone70 mph0
Ocala, FLNone45 mph0
Philadelphia, PANone58 mph0
Providence, RINone46 mph0
San Angelo, TXNone81 mph0
Trenton, NJNone58 mph0
Washington, DCNone60 mph0
Waterbury, CTNone81 mph2

Reports are what observers recorded near a location, not a complete record of every storm. They don’t describe conditions at any building.