Hail in Illinois, July 18, 1997

Name: Hail in Illinois, July 18, 1997
Start: 1997-07-18T14:29
End: 1997-07-18T14:50
Location: Illinois

July 18, 1997 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:26 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Du Page

When: July 18, 2:29 PM CST to 2:50 PM CST
Where: Du Page County, St Charles to Lisle
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.920, -88.320

An area of strong to severe thunderstorms moved into north central Illinois in the early afternoon and moved southeast through the Chicago suburbs during the mid-afternoon and exited Kanakakee and Iroquios counties by late afternoon. There were numerous reports of tree limbs or trees blown down and power lines downed. Two small tornadoes or gustnadoes were embedded in the strong winds - one in Wheaton and one in Mokena (see separative narratives). Some wind gust reports were: 60 mph in Rockford, 65 mph at St. Charles, 60 mph at DuPage Airport in West Chicago and 63 mph in Joliet. Buildings and homes had some structural damage in Winfield, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream in DuPage County.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, July 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5610843.