Titan Archive
YearFinal SPC data

1968

657 tornadoes in 1968, with 1,064 hail and 1,527 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width
131
Tornado deaths
F0 192 F1 251 F2 163 F3 39 F4 8 F5 4
Hail and wind show significant reports only (2 in or larger, 65 kt or stronger). Click a legend item to show or hide it, or "only" to see just that. Select anything on the map to open its record.

Tornadoes by month

Jan: 5Feb: 7Mar: 28Apr: 102May: 142Jun: 136Jul: 56Aug: 66Sep: 25Oct: 14Nov: 44Dec: 32
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Hail reports by month

Jan: 0Feb: 5Mar: 53Apr: 186May: 309Jun: 256Jul: 145Aug: 53Sep: 28Oct: 21Nov: 5Dec: 3
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Wind reports by month

Jan: 4Feb: 7Mar: 37Apr: 137May: 217Jun: 371Jul: 284Aug: 283Sep: 55Oct: 34Nov: 31Dec: 67
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Storm days

Every day with a tornado, hail or wind report. Warmer colors mean more tornadoes; gray days had hail or wind only; a white ring marks a day with an F4/EF4 or stronger tornado.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Running count

1968 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average
19681991 to 2020 average1963 to 1973 (other years)
03757501,1251,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1963: 463 tornadoes1964: 704 tornadoes1965: 897 tornadoes1966: 585 tornadoes1967: 927 tornadoes1969: 608 tornadoes1970: 653 tornadoes1971: 889 tornadoes1972: 741 tornadoes1973: 1,102 tornadoes19686571991-20 avg1,231

657 tornadoes in 1968, 47% below the 1991 to 2020 average of 1,231.

Counts by storm day (12Z to 12Z). Reporting changed a great deal over the decades, so years far from 1991 to 2020 are not a like-for-like comparison with the average.

Busiest tornado days

#DayTornadoesF/EF4+DeathsStrongestStates
105/15/6839472F5AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, MS, OH, TN
204/03/6820212F4AR, IA, IL, KY, MO, MS, TN
306/24/681700F2AR, CO, IA, KS, LA, MO, NE, OH, TX
412/27/681701F3AL, GA, MS, TX
505/13/681500F3FL, KS, MO, NE, OK, TX
604/23/6814314F5KY, LA, MI, OH, TN
706/20/681400F3LA, MN, NE, SD, TX
804/19/6812114F4AR, KS, MO, OK, TX
906/13/681119F5IA, KS, MN, MT, SD
1006/09/681100F2MN, NE, OK, SD, TX, WY
1106/23/681100F2IN, NE, TX, WY
1207/17/681100F2IL, KS, MA, MN, MO, NH, TX
1304/16/681000F2IA, KS, MO, NE, OK
1406/11/681001F2GA, IN, MI, MO, MS, OR, WV, WY
1511/09/68902F2FL

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together
#DayAll reportsTornadoesHailWindLargest hailTop gust
105/15/681363948492.75 in57 kt (66 mph)
204/23/68801445215 in63 kt (72 mph)
306/10/6877332424 in68 kt (78 mph)
412/27/6865172461.75 in70 kt (81 mph)
506/09/68601126234 in65 kt (75 mph)
606/11/68561013332.5 in86 kt (99 mph)
704/27/685243995 in55 kt (63 mph)
805/16/6851734103 in61 kt (70 mph)
906/20/68511413243 in70 kt (81 mph)
1006/13/68481114233.5 in72 kt (83 mph)
1104/22/6845626131.75 in56 kt (64 mph)
1205/13/6845152193 in60 kt (69 mph)
1307/01/684037301.75 in70 kt (81 mph)
1407/17/6840118213 in60 kt (69 mph)
1504/03/6839205143 in58 kt (67 mph)

Largest hail

top 15
#DateSizePlaceNote
106/22/686 inCuster County, SD
207/04/686 inMurray County, MN
304/23/685 inHarlan County, KY
404/23/685 inLee County, VA
504/27/685 inJohnson County, TX
605/30/685 inJim Wells County, TX
706/08/685 inLaramie County, WY
807/02/685 inLoudoun County, VA
903/30/684.5 inPecos County, TX
1004/27/684 inHunt County, TX
1105/06/684 inCrockett County, TX
1206/02/684 inJim Wells County, TX
1306/08/684 inBox Butte County, NE
1406/09/684 inMarshall County, SD
1506/09/684 inLane County, KS

Strongest wind gusts

top 15, measured first on ties
#DateGustmphTypePlaceNote
108/07/68100 kt115Not givenBeadle County, SD
206/29/6887 kt100Not givenOttawa County, MI
307/19/6887 kt100Not givenDeer Lodge County, MT
406/11/6886 kt99Not givenMI
506/15/6885 kt98Not givenGrady County, OK
607/09/6885 kt98Not givenBrevard County, FL
707/08/6880 kt92Not givenEllis County, KS
808/06/6880 kt92Not givenChippewa County, WI
908/22/6880 kt92Not givenSweetwater County, WY
1009/03/6880 kt92Not givenSedgwick County, KS
1106/29/6878 kt90Not givenDuPage County, IL
1208/26/6876 kt87Not givenOkaloosa County, FL
1305/07/6875 kt86Not givenOklahoma County, OK
1406/29/6875 kt86Not givenWinnebago County, IL
1507/16/6875 kt86Not givenDawson County, NE

F4/EF4 and stronger

12
DateRatingTornadoStateLengthWidthDeathsInjuries
04/03/68F4Star City to Dumas, ArkansasAR33.7 mi400 yd516
04/03/68F4Murray to Dawson Springs, KentuckyKY50.6 mi100 yd230
04/19/68F4Greenwood, ArkansasAR2.0 mi300 yd14270
04/23/68F4Falmouth, KY to Portsmouth, OHKY, OH78.7 mi550 yd6364
04/23/68F4Terrace Park to Lynchburg, OhioOH24.1 mi300 yd133
04/23/68F5New Boston to Gallipolis, OhioOH34.0 mi400 yd793
05/15/68F5Hampton to Le Roy, IowaIA62.1 mi600 yd13462
05/15/68F5Oelwein to Fayette, IowaIA13.1 mi500 yd5156
05/15/68F4Newark, ArkansasAR0.3 mi300 yd724
05/15/68F4Tuckerman to Gosnell, ArkansasAR20.9 mi250 yd35364
06/13/68F5Balaton to Tracy, MinnesotaMN9.1 mi150 yd9150
08/19/68F4Coleman to Marinette, WisconsinWI21.8 mi33 yd23

Deadliest tornadoes

DateRatingTornadoStateLengthWidthDeathsInjuries
05/15/68F4Tuckerman to Gosnell, ArkansasAR20.9 mi250 yd35364
04/19/68F4Greenwood, ArkansasAR2.0 mi300 yd14270
05/15/68F5Hampton to Le Roy, IowaIA62.1 mi600 yd13462
06/13/68F5Balaton to Tracy, MinnesotaMN9.1 mi150 yd9150
04/23/68F5New Boston to Gallipolis, OhioOH34.0 mi400 yd793
05/15/68F4Newark, ArkansasAR0.3 mi300 yd724
04/23/68F4Falmouth, KY to Portsmouth, OHKY, OH78.7 mi550 yd6364
04/03/68F4Star City to Dumas, ArkansasAR33.7 mi400 yd516
05/15/68F5Oelwein to Fayette, IowaIA13.1 mi500 yd5156
04/03/68F3Millington to Henning, TennesseeTN28.8 mi1,760 yd432
05/15/68F1Atlanta to Farmer City, IllinoisIL25.4 mi1,000 yd450
05/15/68F3Freeburg, IllinoisIL2.0 mi200 yd460
05/15/68F3Mountain Home, ArkansasAR7.3 mi200 yd325
04/03/68F4Murray to Dawson Springs, KentuckyKY50.6 mi100 yd230
07/30/68F2North Port, FloridaFL0.3 mi27 yd20
  • Storm days. A day here runs from 12Z to 12Z (6 a.m. CST to 6 a.m. CST the next morning), the way SPC counts storm days, so an overnight tornado counts with the afternoon and evening before it.
  • Reporting changed over time. Tornado counts rose from the 1990s on as Doppler radar, spotter networks and cameras caught more weak tornadoes. Counts from different decades are not directly comparable, especially for the weakest ratings.
  • F and EF ratings. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale replaced the Fujita (F) Scale on 02/01/07. Both estimate wind speed from damage, but they use different damage indicators, so each rating is shown with its own scale.
  • Ratings before the mid 1970s. The F Scale came into use in the early 1970s. Tornadoes from 1950 until then were rated afterward from newspaper accounts, photos and records, which tends to make those ratings less certain.
Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26