Illinois hail
Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 102 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 12,331 hail reports in Illinois from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 361 a year since 2000. The costliest was the May 21, 2014 hail ($126 million in 2025 dollars). Illinois ranks 11th of 52 states and territories by count and 10th of 51 per square mile.
Hail in Illinois, 1955 to 2026
Hail records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 12,3311955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 361average
- Deaths
- 047 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $332Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2006908 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are hail reports common in Illinois?
Illinois averages about 361 hail reports a year since 2000, 11th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2006 (908). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Illinois records 2221 hail reports since 1955, 10th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Illinois have the most hail reports?
Per square mile, DuPage County leads Illinois: 117 days with a hail report since 1955, 356.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cook County has the most hail records (643 since 1955); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is hail season in Illinois?
48% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in April and May. The busiest month is May (2,965 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 108 · Feb 325 · Mar 1,338 · Apr 2,895 · May 2,965 · Jun 1,934 · Jul 1,022 · Aug 832 · Sep 430 · Oct 238 · Nov 202 · Dec 42 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
The costliest hail reports in Illinois
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-05-21 | HailTuscola, Douglas County One storm episode: 7 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 4.00 in hail | 0 | 2 | $126M |
| 2011-06-30 | HailAustin, Cook County One storm episode: 5 records; the totals are the episode's. | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $23M |
| 1995-05-09 | HailLincoln, Logan County Every hail record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 2.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | $23M |
| 2003-05-08 | HailGladstone, Henderson County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 4.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $20M |
| 2002-05-27 | HailAuburn, Sangamon County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $15M |
| 1998-04-07 | HailBethany, Moultrie County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $13M |
| 2000-05-23 | HailGoreville, Johnson County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $12M |
| 2023-06-30 | HailCrainville, Williamson County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. | 3.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $9.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hail reports becoming more frequent in Illinois?
Illinois's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Illinois | United States | Illinois's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 68 | 2,477 | 2.7% |
| 1960s | 196 | 7,651 | 2.6% |
| 1970s | 435 | 11,007 | 4.0% |
| 1980s | 539 | 26,555 | 2.0% |
| 1990s | 1,298 | 75,581 | 1.7% |
| 2000s | 4,088 | 137,396 | 3.0% |
| 2010s | 3,525 | 107,281 | 3.3% |
| 2020-26 | 2,182 | 56,491 | 3.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hail reports in Illinois
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-24 | HailMalta, DeKalb County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailAlgonquin, Kane County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailLake In The Hills, McHenry County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailAlgonquin, Kane County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailAlgonquin, Kane County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailAlgonquin, McHenry County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailByron, Ogle County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailHuntley, McHenry County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-24 | HailHuntley, McHenry County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-21 | HailFlat Rock, Crawford County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-21 | HailXenia, Clay County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-17 | HailElwin, Macon County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for hail reports in Illinois
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 26 declarations in Illinois, 26 of them major disasters; the latest on August 15, 2023.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-15 | DR-4728 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 22 |
| 2011-06-07 | DR-1991 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 21 |
| 2010-08-19 | DR-1935 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 11 |
| 2009-07-02 | DR-1850 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 8 |
| 2009-03-02 | DR-1826 | Severe Winter Storm | 9 |
| 2008-10-03 | DR-1800 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 16 |
| 2008-06-24 | DR-1771 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 25 |
| 2008-03-07 | DR-1747 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2007-09-25 | DR-1729 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 9 |
| 2007-08-30 | DR-1722 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2006-03-28 | DR-1633 | Tornadoes and Severe Storms | 6 |
| 2004-04-23 | DR-1513 | Severe Storms and Tornadoes | 4 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- DuPage County: the county's whole recordThe Illinois county with the most hail reports per square mile
- Hail across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in IllinoisTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Illinois22,068 records
- Winter storms in Illinois8,149 records
- Floods in Illinois6,507 records