The severe wind outbreak of May 15, 1998
383 wind reportsIowa, Minnesota, Kansas and 9 more states
383 damaging wind reports across 12 states between 1:00 AM and 11:30 PM CDT, 79 of them 65 knots (75 mph) or stronger. 61 hail reports and 26 tornadoes the same day.
Watch the day unfoldSevere wind day · May 15, 1998
How the day unfolded
Every damaging wind report of the day at its logged time, with the day's hail reports and tornadoes, and the counties they reached.
The day in numbers
- Wind reports
- 383
- 95th of 15,807 days with wind reports since 1955
- 75 mph or more
- 79
- 8 of 86 mph (75 knots) or more
- Strongest measured gust
- —
- No measured gust reported
- Measured
- 0
- reports with an instrument reading; the rest are estimates from damage
- Killed by wind
- 0
- 8 injured
- Counties reporting
- 198
- in 12 states
Hour by hour
Damaging wind reports in each hour, Central Daylight Time.
The strongest winds
The 100 strongest reports with a speed. Measured gusts come from an instrument; estimated speeds are judged from damage.
| 1:47 PM | Cass County IA | 91 mph | Estimated |
| 8:25 AM | Gage County NE | 90 mph | Estimated |
| 9:10 AM | Sarpy County NE | 90 mph | Estimated |
| 2:06 PM | Kossuth County IA | 90 mph | Estimated |
| 2:00 AM | Gray County TX | 86 mph | Estimated |
| 8:15 AM | Pawnee County NE | 86 mph | Estimated |
| 9:30 AM | Douglas County NE | 86 mph | Estimated |
| 9:45 AM | Douglas County NE | 86 mph | Estimated |
| 6:03 AM | Sedgwick County KS | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 7:00 AM | Marion County KS | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 2:10 PM | Humboldt County IA | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 2:25 PM | Kossuth County IA | 85 mph | Estimated |
| 9:00 AM | Fremont County IA | 84 mph | Estimated |
| 9:47 AM | Cass County IA | 83 mph | Estimated |
| 1:25 PM | Webster County IA | 83 mph | Estimated |
| 2:30 AM | Hemphill County TX | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 2:55 AM | Roger Mills County OK | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 3:00 AM | Roger Mills County OK | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 4:39 AM | Grant County SD | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 8:33 AM | Nemaha County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:40 AM | Pottawattamie County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:40 AM | Saunders County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:40 AM | Washington County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:45 AM | Washington County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:48 AM | Douglas County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:54 AM | Sarpy County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:55 AM | Pottawattamie County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 9:56 AM | Douglas County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:03 AM | Douglas County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:05 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:05 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:05 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:05 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:07 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:07 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:08 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:08 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:10 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:11 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:12 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 10:13 AM | Shelby County IA | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 11:57 AM | Rock County MN | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 12:10 PM | York County NE | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 7:05 PM | Rusk County WI | 81 mph | Estimated |
| 1:00 PM | Carroll County IA | 79 mph | Estimated |
| 2:00 PM | Carroll County IA | 79 mph | Estimated |
| 8:40 AM | Gage County NE | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 9:03 AM | Page County IA | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 9:05 AM | Fremont County IA | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 9:30 AM | Douglas County NE | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 9:57 AM | Douglas County NE | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 10:00 AM | Shelby County IA | 78 mph | Estimated |
| 8:35 AM | Gage County NE | 77 mph | Estimated |
| 9:00 AM | Nemaha County NE | 77 mph | Estimated |
| 9:10 AM | Cass County NE | 77 mph | Estimated |
| 9:03 AM | Page County IA | 76 mph | Estimated |
| 9:05 AM | Page County IA | 76 mph | Estimated |
| 1:01 AM | Lincoln County KS | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 1:15 AM | Lincoln County KS | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 1:15 AM | Russell County KS | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 1:45 AM | Mitchell County KS | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:57 AM | Garfield County OK | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 8:28 AM | Atchison County KS | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 9:41 AM | Cass County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 9:58 AM | Audubon County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 1:00 PM | Hamilton County NE | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 1:00 PM | Polk County NE | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 2:27 PM | Faribault County MN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 PM | Dallas County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 PM | Boone County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 3:39 PM | Kossuth County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:25 PM | Meeker County MN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:30 PM | Franklin County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:38 PM | Hennepin County MN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:40 PM | Anoka County MN | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 4:55 PM | Butler County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 PM | Bremer County IA | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:15 PM | Douglas County WI | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 7:25 PM | Douglas County WI | 75 mph | Estimated |
| 9:14 AM | Otoe County NE | 74 mph | Estimated |
| 8:50 AM | Nemaha County NE | 72 mph | Estimated |
| 9:20 AM | Sarpy County NE | 72 mph | Estimated |
| 3:29 PM | Webster County IA | 72 mph | Estimated |
| 8:57 AM | Gage County NE | 71 mph | Estimated |
| 2:54 PM | Mills County IA | 71 mph | Estimated |
| 3:09 PM | Pottawattamie County IA | 71 mph | Estimated |
| 3:30 PM | Harrison County IA | 71 mph | Estimated |
| 3:00 AM | Jackson County OK | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 5:50 AM | Sumner County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 5:50 AM | Kay County OK | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 5:55 AM | Sumner County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 AM | Sumner County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:00 AM | Cowley County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:02 AM | Sedgwick County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:20 AM | Sedgwick County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:29 AM | Butler County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 6:30 AM | Butler County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 7:15 AM | Marion County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 7:50 AM | Riley County KS | 70 mph | Estimated |
| 8:45 AM | Gage County NE | 70 mph | Estimated |
By state
Counties with the most wind reports
- Shelby CountyIA · 14 reports
- Douglas CountyNE · 9 reports
- Gage CountyNE · 8 reports
- Crawford CountyIA · 7 reports
- Carroll CountyIA · 6 reports
- Butler CountyKS · 6 reports
- Pottawatomie CountyKS · 6 reports
- Kossuth CountyIA · 5 reports
- Pine CountyMN · 5 reports
- St. Louis CountyMN · 5 reports
Hail and tornadoes that day
61 hail reports, 2 of 2 inches or more; 26 tornadoes.
| 7:23 PM | Koochiching County MN | 3.00 |
| 4:17 PM | Scott County MN | 2.00 |
| 3:50 AM | Codington County SD | 1.75 |
| 1:33 PM | Humboldt County IA | 1.75 |
| 1:59 PM | Kossuth County IA | 1.75 |
| 4:26 PM | Keokuk County IA | 1.75 |
| 4:41 PM | Keokuk County IA | 1.75 |
| 5:06 PM | Washington County MN | 1.75 |
| 6:30 PM | Fayette County IA | 1.75 |
| 8:55 PM | Marathon County WI | 1.75 |
| 12:55 PM | Carroll County IA | 1.50 |
| 4:30 PM | Hennepin County MN | 1.50 |
| 2:21 AM | Beadle County SD | 1.25 |
| 1:40 AM | Scurry County TX | 1.00 |
| 2:27 AM | Beltrami County MN | 1.00 |
| 3:30 AM | Lake of the Woods County MN | 1.00 |
| 3:30 AM | Harper County OK | 1.00 |
| 6:03 AM | Sedgwick County KS | 1.00 |
| 1:14 PM | Calhoun County IA | 1.00 |
| 1:44 PM | Kossuth County IA | 1.00 |
| 4:35 PM | Ramsey County MN | 1.00 |
| 4:40 PM | Anoka County MN | 1.00 |
| 6:38 PM | Eau Claire County WI | 1.00 |
| 6:55 PM | Chippewa County WI | 1.00 |
| 7:08 PM | Jackson County IA | 1.00 |
| 4:12 AM | Koochiching County MN | 0.88 |
| 9:05 AM | Neosho County KS | 0.88 |
| 4:03 PM | Scott County MN | 0.88 |
| 1:42 AM | Donley County TX | 0.75 |
| 1:50 AM | Sterling County TX | 0.75 |
| 1:50 AM | Mitchell County TX | 0.75 |
| 1:53 AM | Mitchell County TX | 0.75 |
| 2:20 AM | Mitchell County TX | 0.75 |
| 2:20 AM | Nolan County TX | 0.75 |
| 2:24 AM | Nolan County TX | 0.75 |
| 2:33 AM | Wheeler County TX | 0.75 |
| 3:05 AM | Buffalo County NE | 0.75 |
| 3:10 AM | Sherman County NE | 0.75 |
| 5:00 AM | Big Stone County MN | 0.75 |
| 6:05 AM | Cleveland County OK | 0.75 |
| 6:30 AM | Pawnee County OK | 0.75 |
| 6:35 AM | Osage County OK | 0.75 |
| 7:45 AM | Osage County OK | 0.75 |
| 7:55 AM | Washington County OK | 0.75 |
| 8:07 AM | Montgomery County KS | 0.75 |
| 8:09 AM | Montgomery County KS | 0.75 |
| 10:20 AM | Roseau County MN | 0.75 |
| 2:30 PM | Wright County IA | 0.75 |
| 3:00 PM | Faribault County MN | 0.75 |
| 3:01 PM | Blue Earth County MN | 0.75 |
- F0 tornado11:30 AM CDT
- F2 tornado12:01 PM CDT
- F0 tornado12:30 PM CDT
- F2 tornado2:30 PM CDT
- F1 tornado3:10 PM CDT
- F1 tornado3:58 PM CDT
- F1 tornado4:00 PM CDT
- F0 tornado4:00 PM CDT
- F1 tornado4:10 PM CDT
- F0 tornado4:13 PM CDT
- F0 tornado4:15 PM CDT
- F1 tornado4:16 PM CDT
- F0 tornado4:20 PM CDT
- F0 tornado4:21 PM CDT
- F1 tornado4:40 PM CDT · 1 killed
- F1 tornado4:40 PM CDT
- F1 tornado5:00 PM CDT
- F3 tornado5:05 PM CDT
- F3 tornado5:50 PM CDT
- F1 tornado6:05 PM CDT
- F0 tornado6:30 PM CDT
- F0 tornado7:10 PM CDT
- F0 tornado7:40 PM CDT
- F2 tornado7:45 PM CDT
- F0 tornado7:55 PM CDT
- F0 tornado8:05 PM CDT
1998 · On this date in other years · The biggest severe wind days
- A report is a single damage or measurement report to the National Weather Service. Several reports can describe one gust front, so reports are not storms.
- Reporting has grown with population, spotter networks and the internet, so counts from different decades are not directly comparable.
- Thunderstorm wind reports start at 50 knots (58 mph). SPC began flagging measured against estimated speeds in 2006; earlier reports are shown as estimated.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1955 to 2025. A day is SPC’s calendar date in Central Standard Time; a severe wind day here has 300 or more damaging wind reports, or 15 or more of 75 knots (86 mph) or more.