Overview
- Severe storms Tuesday evening produced widespread hail across both metros, with sizes ranging from quarters to baseballs and larger.
- In the Kansas City area, an NWS report estimated a roughly 4-inch hailstone near Weatherby Lake, with additional golf ball–size or larger hail logged around Lake Waukomis, Houston Lake and nearby communities.
- NWS Chicago received multiple reports of golf ball– to tennis ball–size hail in suburbs including Woodridge, Downers Grove, Darien and Westmont, with the threat extending into west-central Cook County.
- Viewer photos showed grapefruit- to baseball-size stones and vehicle damage, including broken windows in the Kansas City area and reported car damage in Kankakee County.
- O’Hare and Midway issued ground stops during the storms, and forecasters had flagged an elevated hail risk (level 3 of 5) with warnings for very large hail, heavy rain, damaging winds and a tornado threat.