YearFinal SPC data

1983

930 tornadoes in 1983, with 2,331 hail and 4,991 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width

Tornado deaths

F0 350 F1 372 F2 147 F3 57 F4 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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Hail reports by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Wind reports by month

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

1983 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average

19831991 to 2020 average1978 to 1988 (other years)

930 tornadoes in 1983, 24% 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

#	Day	Tornadoes	F/EF4+	Deaths	Strongest	States
1	05/01/83	33	0	2	F3	IA, IL, IN, MI, MO, NE
2	05/13/83	32	0	0	F3	AR, OK, TX
3	06/13/83	28	0	0	F2	CO, IA, KS, MN, NE, OK, TX
4	05/19/83	26	0	4	F3	AL, GA, LA, MI, MS, TX
5	07/03/83	25	2	0	F4	IA, MN, SC, WI
6	05/02/83	22	0	5	F3	AR, IL, IN, KY, MI, NY, OH, PA, TX
7	05/18/83	21	0	0	F3	AL, KS, LA, MO, MS, TX
8	05/20/83	19	0	2	F3	LA, TX
9	08/17/83	18	0	0	F2	CO, SD, TX
10	12/10/83	18	0	2	F2	AL, LA, MS, TX
11	06/12/83	17	0	0	F2	CO, KS, MN, NE, SD
12	04/23/83	15	0	0	F3	AL, FL, GA, SC, WA
13	12/03/83	15	0	2	F3	AL, GA, LA, MS
14	01/31/83	14	0	2	F3	AL, LA, MS, TX
15	11/22/83	14	0	0	F3	AR, LA, MS, OK, TX

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together

#	Day	All reports	Tornadoes	Hail	Wind	Largest hail	Top gust
1	07/21/83	315	9	45	261	3 in	105 kt (121 mph)
2	07/19/83	280	6	10	264	2.75 in	102 kt (117 mph)
3	11/22/83	195	14	40	141	2.75 in	76 kt (87 mph)
4	05/02/83	194	22	94	78	3 in	74 kt (85 mph)
5	07/03/83	163	25	4	134	1.75 in	61 kt (70 mph)
6	06/27/83	156	10	12	134	1.75 in	74 kt (85 mph)
7	04/01/83	142	13	37	92	2.75 in	78 kt (90 mph)
8	07/17/83	135	6	33	96	4 in	95 kt (109 mph)
9	06/03/83	122	9	39	74	3 in	65 kt (75 mph)
10	05/13/83	120	32	60	28	2.75 in	71 kt (82 mph)
11	05/19/83	119	26	32	61	2.75 in	104 kt (120 mph)
12	06/13/83	119	28	35	56	2.75 in	72 kt (83 mph)
13	07/01/83	115	7	30	78	2 in	64 kt (74 mph)
14	06/30/83	112	9	19	84	3 in	87 kt (100 mph)
15	05/01/83	111	33	27	51	2.75 in	65 kt (75 mph)

Largest hail

top 15

#	Date	Size	Place
1	06/04/83	4.5 in	Weld County, CO
2	06/04/83	4.5 in	Carson County, TX
3	06/12/83	4.5 in	Washington County, CO
4	06/12/83	4.5 in	Washington County, CO
5	06/20/83	4.5 in	Goshen County, WY
6	08/05/83	4.5 in	Denver County, CO
7	08/24/83	4.5 in	Stutsman County, ND
8	04/23/83	4 in	Troup County, GA
9	04/23/83	4 in	Troup County, GA
10	04/23/83	4 in	Troup County, GA
11	06/05/83	4 in	Callahan County, TX
12	06/20/83	4 in	Sioux County, NE
13	07/17/83	4 in	Golden Valley County, ND
14	07/17/83	4 in	Slope County, ND
15	07/17/83	4 in	Mercer County, ND

Strongest wind gusts

top 15, measured first on ties

#	Date	Gust	mph	Type	Place
1	07/21/83	105 kt	121	Not given	Door County, WI
2	05/20/83	104 kt	120	Not given	Waller County, TX
3	07/19/83	102 kt	117	Not given	Douglas County, MN
4	07/19/83	100 kt	115	Not given	Wright County, MN
5	07/21/83	100 kt	115	Not given	Door County, WI
6	02/02/83	98 kt	113	Not given	Duval County, FL
7	02/02/83	98 kt	113	Not given	Duval County, FL
8	07/19/83	96 kt	110	Not given	Douglas County, MN
9	08/22/83	96 kt	110	Not given	Montgomery County, VA
10	07/17/83	95 kt	109	Not given	Hooker County, NE
11	07/17/83	95 kt	109	Not given	Hooker County, NE
12	07/28/83	95 kt	109	Not given	Russell County, KS
13	04/24/83	91 kt	105	Not given	Campbell County, WY
14	05/20/83	87 kt	100	Not given	Harris County, TX
15	05/20/83	87 kt	100	Not given	Harris County, TX

F4/EF4 and stronger

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
04/01/83	F4	Sterlington to Bastrop, Louisiana	LA	9.0 mi	1,000 yd	2	20
07/03/83	F4	Andover, Minnesota	MN	1.0 mi	67 yd	0	4
07/03/83	F4	Dodgeville, Wisconsin	WI	0.5 mi	50 yd	0	0
12/06/83	F4	Gramercy to Kenner, Louisiana	LA	7.0 mi	200 yd	0	25

Deadliest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
04/09/83	F3	Inverness Highlands South to Inverness, Florida	FL	10.0 mi	80 yd	3	2
04/01/83	F4	Sterlington to Bastrop, Louisiana	LA	9.0 mi	1,000 yd	2	20
05/01/83	F0	Farina, Illinois	IL	0.2 mi	30 yd	2	0
05/02/83	F3	Mayville to South Dayton, New York	NY	28.0 mi	450 yd	2	0
07/21/83	F2	Cheswold, Delaware	DE	1.0 mi	20 yd	2	9
12/03/83	F3	Oxford to Anniston, Alabama	AL	4.0 mi	150 yd	2	51
01/31/83	F3	Kaplan to Maurice, Louisiana	LA	6.0 mi	100 yd	1	0
01/31/83	F3	Bunkie to Cottonport, Louisiana	LA	5.0 mi	100 yd	1	2
02/02/83	F2	Sebring, Florida	FL	1.0 mi	40 yd	1	6
04/29/83	F3	Republic to Willard, Missouri	MO	5.5 mi	100 yd	1	19
05/02/83	F3	Weston, Ohio	OH	5.0 mi	100 yd	1	22
05/02/83	F3	Broadview Heights to Solon, Ohio	OH	12.0 mi	100 yd	1	25
05/02/83	F3	Red Creek to North Syracuse, New York	NY	20.0 mi	200 yd	1	0
05/06/83	F3	Auburn to Topeka, Kansas	KS	19.0 mi	150 yd	1	25
05/20/83	F3	Urania to Clarks, Louisiana	LA	12.0 mi	500 yd	1	35

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.

Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26