Huge 6.6-inch hailstone sets Illinois state record
Hail larger than a grapefruit fell in Illinois earlier this year and has officially been confirmed as a new state record.
The NWS in Illinois has confirmed a record-sized hailstone from a storm in March of 2026.
Illinois has experienced an unprecedented year for severe weather, with the state tallying more tornadoes than any year in history. And now, another extreme weather record has been officially broken.
A hailstone measuring 6.6 inches in diameter found in Kankakee, Illinois, on March 10, 2026, has been confirmed as a state record.
"The hailstone measured 6.603 inches in its largest axis, weighed 19.65 ounces (1.228 pounds), and had a volume of 38.697 cubic inches," NOAA wrote in its report. "After review by the State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC), this hailstone was determined to be a new record for the state of Illinois. The previous record largest hailstone was 4.75 inches on 10 June 2015, found near Minooka, IL."
Photos and details of two large hailstones produced by the March 10, 2026, storms near Kankakee, Illinois. The stone was measured by the Northern Illinois University Meteorology Department. (NOAA)
The large hail came from an intense storm on March 10 that stretched from Mexico to Canada, featuring a wide swath of hail more than 5 inches in diameter. The storms also spawned a family of 12 tornadoes across Livingston and Kankakee counties in Illinois, and Newton, Jasper and Starke counties in Indiana. One tornado was rated EF3 and killed two people in Kankakee.
On March 18, Dr. Victor Gensini from Northern Illinois University announced that he had measured a hailstone about 6.6 inches across and submitted the information to NOAA SCEC. After several committee meetings, the record was confirmed on Sept. 1.
Map of estimated maximum hail size across Kankakee County, Illinois, that occurred on March 10, 2026. Analysis was created manually based on a review of individual radar frames combined with radar-estimated hail size and direct hail observations. The location of the new record hail stone is approximately located near the 3rd “k” in the city of Kankakee label. (NOAA)
Other state records recently set for hail diameter include 7.1 inches in Swisher County, Texas, in 2024 and 5.25 inches near Kirk, Colorado, in 2023. Hail records are only maintained by the SCEC for nine states: Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont. Hail rarely exceeds softball size, or 4 inches in diameter, but the U.S. record for a hailstone's diameter is 8 inches, set by a stone that fell in Vivian, South Dakota, in 2010.
