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Storm reports for May 21, 2024

NOAA recorded 145 hail reports, 371 wind reports and 38 tornado reports in 17 states on May 21, 2024.

in 17 states
554
Storm reports
About 9 miles from Tulsa, OK
3.0 in
Largest hail
About 8 miles from Cedar Rapids, IA
100 mph
Highest gust
Highest rating EF4, near 40.90, -94.93, IA
38
Tornado reports
Sources: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center reports; radar hail estimates from NOAA MRMS; gust estimates from NOAA URMA; damage surveys from the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit

Hail, inches

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

Dots: reports. Shading: radar estimate.

  • Wind report
  • Estimated gusts, 50 to 90 mph
  • 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 21, 2024 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. Gust lines are estimates: the highest gust of the day in NOAA's hourly 2.5 km wind analysis (URMA), which fills in between weather stations. They aren't measurements at any building.

What happened

An EF4 tornado with peak winds estimated at 175 to 185 mph tracked about 44 miles across southwest Iowa, from near Villisca to Greenfield, between 2:57 and 3:43 p.m. CDT on May 21.1 In Greenfield, houses across several blocks on the southwest side were destroyed, and EF3 damage extended across town to the east side.2 The National Weather Service survey counted 5 deaths and 35 injuries, and four of the deaths were in Greenfield homes. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $30 million in property damage in Adair County from the tornado.1,2

An EF2 tornado with peak winds of 135 mph tracked 41 miles from near Grimes into Story County between 4:30 and 5:05 p.m. CDT, damaging houses in Johnston and in neighborhoods south of Alleman. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $5.2 million in property damage in Polk County from it.3,4 In the Tulsa area, hail up to 3 inches across fell in Broken Arrow around 5:55 p.m. CDT, and hail the size of hen eggs struck Jenks and Bixby, damaging homes, businesses and vehicles.5,6,7

Sources

  1. 1. NWS Des Moines (text archive, Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Iowa State University): Public Information Statement: NWS damage survey for 05/21/2024 tornado event, update 2
  2. 2. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1170280, tornado, Adair County, Iowa
  3. 3. NWS Des Moines (text archive, Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Iowa State University): Public Information Statement: NWS damage survey for the 05/21/2024 tornado event
  4. 4. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1170180, tornado, Polk County, Iowa
  5. 5. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1182552, hail, Tulsa County, Oklahoma
  6. 6. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1183857, hail, Tulsa County, Oklahoma
  7. 7. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1183873, hail, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Reports by hour

Hail145, most at 5 PM

Wind371, most at 7 PM

Tornado38, most at 7 PM

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

Every report

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center.

TimeRatingWherePath
7:10 AMEF0About 46 miles from Omaha, NE0.69 mi long, 40 yd wide
7:32 AMEF1About 58 miles from Omaha, NE3.27 mi long, 80 yd wide
12:52 PMEF0About 18 miles from Omaha, NE0.22 mi long, 50 yd wide
2:30 PMEF1Near 42.75, -95.28, IA1.64 mi long, 75 yd wide
2:35 PMEF1About 45 miles from Omaha, NE2.91 mi long, 70 yd wide
2:43 PMEF3About 53 miles from Omaha, NE33.86 mi long, 1300 yd wide
2:57 PMEF1Near 40.89, -94.96, IA1.73 mi long, 85 yd wide
2:59 PMEF4Near 40.90, -94.93, IA40.65 mi long, 1600 yd wide
3:09 PMEF0Near 41.51, -94.91, IA7.24 mi long, 100 yd wide
3:18 PMEF1Near 40.95, -94.68, IA12.66 mi long, 200 yd wide
3:39 PMEF2About 47 miles from Des Moines, IA14.63 mi long, 200 yd wide
3:48 PMEF0Near 43.62, -94.47, MN2.28 mi long, 75 yd wide
Show all 38 tornado reports
TimeRatingWherePath
3:50 PMEF0About 43 miles from Des Moines, IA3.97 mi long, 75 yd wide
4:25 PMEF0About 16 miles from Des Moines, IA1.04 mi long, 40 yd wide
4:28 PMEF0About 12 miles from Des Moines, IA2 mi long, 75 yd wide
4:30 PMEF2About 11 miles from Des Moines, IA40.84 mi long, 1000 yd wide
5:25 PMEF0Near 38.46, -93.59, MO0.35 mi long, 50 yd wide
5:27 PMEF1About 14 miles from Tulsa, OK5.3 mi long, 500 yd wide
5:39 PMEF1About 19 miles from Tulsa, OK1 mi long, 100 yd wide
5:41 PMEF0About 38 miles from Rochester, MN0.69 mi long, 25 yd wide
6:01 PMEF1About 23 miles from Rochester, MN19.74 mi long, 110 yd wide
6:14 PMEF1About 34 miles from Rochester, MN3.9 mi long, 100 yd wide
6:17 PMEF1About 36 miles from Rochester, MN2.69 mi long, 45 yd wide
6:34 PMEF1About 56 miles from Rochester, MN0.84 mi long, 150 yd wide
6:56 PMEF1Near 44.68, -91.12, WI9.47 mi long, 440 yd wide
6:59 PMEF1Near 44.49, -90.98, WI3.13 mi long, 75 yd wide
7:08 PMEF1Near 44.57, -90.81, WI6.96 mi long, 300 yd wide
7:20 PMEF1Near 44.69, -90.58, WI9.07 mi long, 120 yd wide
7:27 PMEF1Near 44.85, -90.54, WI4.04 mi long, 150 yd wide
7:29 PMEF1Near 44.78, -90.45, WI2.2 mi long, 75 yd wide
7:33 PMEF0Near 44.83, -90.38, WI1.39 mi long, 75 yd wide
7:34 PMEF1Near 44.84, -90.32, WI4.01 mi long, 110 yd wide
7:47 PMEF1Near 44.86, -90.05, WI2.11 mi long, 60 yd wide
7:49 PMEF1About 15 miles from Madison, WI4.63 mi long, 75 yd wide
7:51 PMEF1Near 44.95, -90.05, WI2.13 mi long, 80 yd wide
7:59 PMEF1About 53 miles from Appleton, WI5.27 mi long, 60 yd wide
8:58 PMEF1About 5 miles from Appleton, WI2.69 mi long, 80 yd wide
10:32 PMEF1Near 45.35, -86.91, WI2.28 mi long, 50 yd wide

By state

StateReportsHailWindTornado
Iowa1703112514
Wisconsin1421211317
Oklahoma645752
Illinois421410
Minnesota301263
Missouri3010191
New York171160
Texas131300
Nebraska11821
Florida7340
Arkansas6060
New Hampshire6330
Massachusetts5320
Michigan5050
Vermont3120
Kansas2110
Indiana1010

Cities with reports nearby

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

CityLargest hailHighest gustTornado reports
Tulsa, OK3.0 in70 mph1
Madison, WI1.5 in70 mph0
Miami, FL1.5 in58 mph0
Albany, NY1.0 inNone0
Cedar Rapids, IA1.0 in100 mph0
Des Moines, IA1.0 in70 mph2
Manchester, NH1.0 in60 mph0
Omaha, NE1.0 in60 mph0
Rochester, MN0.75 in69 mph0
Appleton, WINone70 mph1
Green Bay, WINone68 mph0
Little Rock, ARNone60 mph0
Rockford, ILNone58 mph0

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