YearFinal SPC data

1998

1,424 tornadoes in 1998, with 10,792 hail and 12,016 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width

130

Tornado deaths

F0 883 F1 382 F2 116 F3 35 F4 6 F5 2

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

1998 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average

19981991 to 2020 average1993 to 2003 (other years)

1,424 tornadoes in 1998, 16% above 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	06/13/98	45	0	0	F2	AR, KS, NC, NE, OK, WY
2	05/07/98	42	1	1	F4	GA, KS, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA
3	05/31/98	39	0	1	F3	CT, IN, KY, NH, NY, OH, PA, VT
4	04/16/98	38	1	8	F5	AL, AR, GA, KY, MI, MO, MS, TN
5	06/02/98	36	1	2	F4	MD, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, VA, WV
6	04/07/98	35	0	0	F2	IA, IL, IN, MO, TX
7	06/27/98	33	0	1	F2	IA, KS, MN, ND, NE, OH, WV
8	06/29/98	29	0	0	F2	FL, IA, IL, IN, KS, NE, OH, TN
9	05/24/98	28	0	0	F3	CO, KS, KY, OK, WV
10	10/04/98	28	0	0	F3	KS, OK
11	05/15/98	26	0	1	F3	IA, IL, MN, NE, WI
12	05/30/98	25	1	6	F4	IA, MI, SD, WI
13	06/08/98	25	0	0	F2	AR, ID, KS, NV, OK
14	09/28/98	25	0	0	F1	AL, FL, GA, NC
15	04/15/98	23	1	4	F4	AR, IL, IN, MO, TN

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together

#	Day	All reports	Tornadoes	Hail	Wind	Largest hail	Top gust
1	06/18/98	601	23	188	390	4.5 in	100 kt (115 mph)
2	05/31/98	576	39	158	379	2.75 in	100 kt (115 mph)
3	06/29/98	458	29	98	331	4 in	107 kt (123 mph)
4	04/08/98	453	15	336	102	2.75 in	80 kt (92 mph)
5	05/30/98	410	25	112	273	5 in	111 kt (128 mph)
6	06/13/98	383	45	173	165	4.5 in	99 kt (114 mph)
7	06/16/98	377	15	157	205	3 in	70 kt (81 mph)
8	05/15/98	374	26	39	309	3 in	79 kt (91 mph)
9	06/27/98	361	33	73	255	3.25 in	88 kt (101 mph)
10	05/24/98	358	28	250	80	4 in	96 kt (110 mph)
11	06/24/98	356	7	144	205	3.5 in	80 kt (92 mph)
12	05/07/98	350	42	268	40	4.5 in	65 kt (75 mph)
13	06/26/98	321	11	104	206	4.5 in	80 kt (92 mph)
14	05/21/98	316	15	157	144	4.5 in	82 kt (94 mph)
15	06/04/98	310	7	79	224	2.75 in	75 kt (86 mph)

Largest hail

top 15

#	Date	Size	Place
1	05/30/98	5 in	Story County, IA
2	01/06/98	4.5 in	Gregg County, TX
3	01/06/98	4.5 in	Upshur County, TX
4	01/06/98	4.5 in	Gregg County, TX
5	03/29/98	4.5 in	Nicollet County, MN
6	04/07/98	4.5 in	Douglas County, IL
7	04/17/98	4.5 in	Forrest County, MS
8	05/07/98	4.5 in	Rowan County, NC
9	05/12/98	4.5 in	Schuyler County, IL
10	05/21/98	4.5 in	Texas County, MO
11	05/21/98	4.5 in	Hayes County, NE
12	05/21/98	4.5 in	Kearney County, NE
13	05/27/98	4.5 in	Montgomery County, NC
14	06/03/98	4.5 in	Overton County, TN
15	06/03/98	4.5 in	Catawba County, NC

Strongest wind gusts

top 15, measured first on ties

#	Date	Gust	mph	Type	Place
1	02/10/98	117 kt	135	Not given	Polk County, TX
2	05/31/98	111 kt	128	Not given	Dodge County, WI
3	06/29/98	107 kt	123	Not given	Washington County, IA
4	02/02/98	104 kt	120	Not given	Monroe County, FL
5	06/29/98	104 kt	120	Not given	Polk County, IA
6	06/29/98	104 kt	120	Not given	Polk County, IA
7	02/10/98	100 kt	115	Not given	San Augustine County, TX
8	02/10/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Sabine County, TX
9	02/10/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Sabine Parish, LA
10	02/10/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Natchitoches Parish, LA
11	02/10/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Red River Parish, LA
12	05/31/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Washington County, IN
13	06/18/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Chickasaw County, IA
14	06/30/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Randolph County, NC
15	08/04/98	100 kt	115	Not given	Otero County, NM

F4/EF4 and stronger

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
03/29/98	F4	Fulda to Courtland, Minnesota	MN	73.5 mi	1,500 yd	1	19
04/08/98	F5	Brookwood to Brookside, Alabama	AL	30.3 mi	1,320 yd	32	259
04/16/98	F4	Manila, Arkansas	AR	5.0 mi	400 yd	2	12
04/16/98	F5	Clifton to Lewisburg, Tennessee	TN	69.4 mi	1,760 yd	3	36
05/07/98	F4	Granite Falls, North Carolina	NC	4.0 mi	1,320 yd	0	2
05/30/98	F4	Alexandria to Salem, South Dakota	SD	14.0 mi	1,150 yd	6	150
06/02/98	F4	Somerset, PA to Carpendale, WV	PA, MD	36.5 mi	1,200 yd	0	5
06/11/98	F4	Cumberland to Greenfield, Indiana	IN	13.2 mi	400 yd	0	4

Deadliest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
04/08/98	F5	Brookwood to Brookside, Alabama	AL	30.3 mi	1,320 yd	32	259
02/23/98	F3	Kissimmee to Titusville, Florida	FL	28.0 mi	250 yd	25	150
02/23/98	F3	Longwood to Black Hammock, Florida	FL	16.0 mi	200 yd	13	36
03/20/98	F3	Gainesville to Clermont, Georgia	GA	4.0 mi	100 yd	12	171
05/30/98	F4	Alexandria to Salem, South Dakota	SD	14.0 mi	1,150 yd	6	150
04/09/98	F2	Ludowici to Richmond Hill, Georgia	GA	24.5 mi	400 yd	4	31
02/22/98	F3	Clermont to Eatonville, Florida	FL	18.0 mi	200 yd	3	70
04/16/98	F5	Clifton to Lewisburg, Tennessee	TN	69.4 mi	1,760 yd	3	36
03/20/98	F3	Madison to Eden, North Carolina	NC	12.0 mi	300 yd	2	27
04/01/98	F3	Lake Caroline, Virginia	VA	5.0 mi	400 yd	2	0
04/08/98	F2	Moody to Riverside, Alabama	AL	14.4 mi	200 yd	2	12
04/09/98	F3	Pembroke to Rincon, Georgia	GA	8.0 mi	440 yd	2	17
04/16/98	F4	Manila, Arkansas	AR	5.0 mi	400 yd	2	12
04/16/98	F3	Dyersburg to Newbern, Tennessee	TN	4.0 mi	100 yd	2	3
04/16/98	F3	Auburn to Edmonton, Kentucky	KY	48.0 mi	100 yd	2	9

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