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Storm reports for May 16, 2025

NOAA recorded 416 hail reports, 769 wind reports and 27 tornado reports in 21 states on May 16, 2025.

in 21 states
1,212
Storm reports
Near 37.03, -89.06, KY
4.5 in
Largest hail
Near 38.55, -75.55, DE
105 mph
Highest gust
Highest rating EF4, near 37.66, -89.09, IL
27
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 16, 2025 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

At about 2:41 p.m. on May 16, 2025, a tornado touched down near Clayton, Missouri, crossed northern St. Louis and the Mississippi River, and passed through Granite City, Illinois. NWS St. Louis rated it EF3 with winds up to 152 mph and lists 5 deaths and 38 injuries.1 Thousands of buildings in St. Louis were damaged, with major structural damage around Forest Park and the neighborhoods north of it. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $1.6 billion in damage in the city.1,2

NWS Paducah confirmed 10 tornadoes in its area that afternoon and evening, 7 of them EF2 or stronger.3 The strongest, an EF4 with peak winds of 190 mph south of Marion, Illinois, tore roofs off homes, destroyed others and injured 7 people. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $25 million in damage.3,4 An EF3 north of Sikeston, Missouri, destroyed homes near Sandywoods and killed 2 people.3,5 Hail up to 4.5 inches across fell in and around Barlow, Kentucky, breaking many windows and damaging roofs, gutters and siding.6

Late that night, an EF4 tornado with winds near 170 mph tracked nearly 60 miles from Russell County through the south side of Somerset to the south side of London, Kentucky, crossing I-75 around 11:45 p.m. EDT.7,8 In Laurel County, the London mayor reported 280 homes destroyed and 195 with major damage. The tornado killed 19 people, 17 of them in Laurel County.7

Sources

  1. 1. NWS St. Louis: May 16 St. Louis and Des Arc Tornadoes
  2. 2. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1262207, tornado, St. Louis city, Missouri
  3. 3. NWS Paducah: Overview of the Tornado Outbreak of May 16, 2025
  4. 4. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1274298, tornado, Williamson County, Illinois
  5. 5. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1273038, tornado, Scott County, Missouri
  6. 6. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1274310, hail, Ballard County, Kentucky
  7. 7. NWS Jackson KY: May 16-17, 2025: Late Spring Storm System Brings Catastrophic Long-Track Tornado as well as Damaging Winds and Large Hail to Eastern Kentucky
  8. 8. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Storm Events Database: Event 1292941, tornado, Laurel County, Kentucky

Reports by hour

Hail416, most at 2 PM

Wind769, most at 10 PM

Tornado27, most at 6 PM

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

Every report

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center.

TimeRatingWherePath
7:46 AMEF1About 53 miles from Memphis, TN7.11 mi long, 150 yd wide
11:42 AMEF1About 26 miles from Philadelphia, PA8.09 mi long, 300 yd wide
1:25 PMEF1Near 37.16, -91.91, MO2.41 mi long, 100 yd wide
1:52 PMEF0About 36 miles from Pittsburgh, PA0.51 mi long, 75 yd wide
2:39 PMEF2About 6 miles from St. Louis, MO23.22 mi long, 1750 yd wide
2:53 PMEF2Near 37.27, -90.66, MO3.26 mi long, 150 yd wide
3:54 PMEF3Near 36.96, -89.78, MO16.1 mi long, 200 yd wide
3:59 PMEF0Near 36.96, -89.72, MO0.64 mi long, 100 yd wide
4:03 PMEF2Near 37.36, -89.78, MO1.39 mi long, 225 yd wide
4:51 PMEF1In Baltimore, MD4.34 mi long, 75 yd wide
5:44 PMEF2Near 39.05, -87.23, IN14.04 mi long, 200 yd wide
5:52 PMEF1Near 38.55, -75.83, MD11.3 mi long, 600 yd wide
Show all 27 tornado reports
TimeRatingWherePath
5:54 PMEF1About 45 miles from Clarksville, TN0.83 mi long, 210 yd wide
6:15 PMEF1Near 39.08, -86.86, IN1.82 mi long, 100 yd wide
6:15 PMEF4Near 37.66, -89.09, IL16.28 mi long, 900 yd wide
6:27 PMEF2About 54 miles from Indianapolis, IN35.27 mi long, 350 yd wide
6:38 PMEF1Near 39.16, -87.80, IL10.68 mi long, 100 yd wide
6:40 PMEF1Near 37.06, -89.56, MO1.31 mi long, 100 yd wide
6:42 PMEF2About 26 miles from Clarksville, TN5.99 mi long, 200 yd wide
6:48 PMEF1About 58 miles from Evansville, IN6.75 mi long, 75 yd wide
6:56 PMEF2About 52 miles from Evansville, IN9.93 mi long, 250 yd wide
6:58 PMEF0About 47 miles from Indianapolis, IN0.43 mi long, 20 yd wide
7:02 PMEF1About 34 miles from Cincinnati, OH6.33 mi long, 250 yd wide
7:16 PMEF3About 36 miles from Evansville, IN9.88 mi long, 500 yd wide
9:26 PMEF2About 23 miles from Clarksville, TN10.03 mi long, 225 yd wide
9:27 PMEF4Near 37.02, -85.03, KY60.08 mi long, 1700 yd wide
9:55 PMEF1About 32 miles from Clarksville, TN2.57 mi long, 75 yd wide

By state

StateReportsHailWindTornado
Kentucky248751676
Missouri157135157
Ohio10622840
Virginia1037960
Indiana8418615
Illinois7840344
Maryland7712632
West Virginia771760
Texas635850
Tennessee3910290
Arkansas3320121
Pennsylvania322291
North Carolina302280
Mississippi231220
Alabama222200
Wisconsin150150
Michigan10730
New Jersey8161
New York3030
Delaware2110
South Carolina2200

Cities with reports nearby

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

CityLargest hailHighest gustTornado reports
Georgetown, TX3.0 inNone0
Round Rock, TX3.0 inNone0
St. Louis, MO2.5 in69 mph1
Mesquite, TX1.75 in67 mph0
Washington, DC1.25 in75 mph0
Arlington, TX1.0 inNone0
Clarksville, TN1.0 in64 mph0
Fort Worth, TX1.0 inNone0
Grand Prairie, TX1.0 inNone0
Indianapolis, IN1.0 in81 mph0
Irving, TX1.0 inNone0
Little Rock, AR1.0 in60 mph0
Rockford, IL1.0 inNone0
Akron, OHNone69 mph0
Allentown, PANone63 mph0
Appleton, WINone60 mph0
Asheville, NCNone58 mph0
Baltimore, MDNone81 mph1
Birmingham, ALNone64 mph0
Canton, OHNone69 mph0
Fort Wayne, INNone71 mph0
Green Bay, WINone62 mph0
Hagerstown, MDNone60 mph0
Harrisburg, PANone60 mph0
Huntington, WVNone58 mph0
Kalamazoo, MINone60 mph0
Lexington, KYNone63 mph0
Louisville, KYNone82 mph0
Philadelphia, PANone69 mph0
Reading, PANone63 mph0
York, PANone60 mph0

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