Hail, Carroll
- When
- May 18, 5:15 PM CST
- Where
- Carroll County, Thomson
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.970, -90.100
Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 18, 1997
5 inches. While there were a few reports of tornadoes; by far the most significant event was the large hail.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 14
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
A very costly hail storm passed across northeast Iowa into extreme western Illinois, bringing several waves of hail greater than 1.5 inches. While there were a few reports of tornadoes; by far the most significant event was the large hail.
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:13 UTC.
Event by event
12 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Jo Daviess
- When
- May 18, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Jo Daviess County, East Dubuque
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.480, -90.630
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:05 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, East Moline
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.520, -90.470
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:05 PM CST to 7:10 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, East Moline
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.520, -90.470
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:08 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, East Moline
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.520, -90.470
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:11 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, Silvis
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.520, -90.420
Hail, Henry
- When
- May 18, 7:17 PM CST to 7:24 PM CST
- Where
- Henry County, Colona
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.480, -90.350
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:25 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, Milan
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.450, -90.570
Tornado, Warren
- When
- May 18, 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Warren County, Smithshire
- Rating
- F0
- Coordinates
- 40.800, -90.780
Brief tornado touchdown with no damage.
Hail, Rock Island
- When
- May 18, 7:41 PM CST
- Where
- Rock Island County, Moline
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.500, -90.520
Tornado, Bureau
- When
- May 18, 7:55 PM CST
- Where
- Bureau County, Manlius
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Coordinates
- 41.450, -89.670
Hail, Bureau
- When
- May 18, 8:04 PM CST
- Where
- Bureau County, 2 mi W of Princeton
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.370, -89.500
Hail, Bureau
- When
- May 18, 8:09 PM CST
- Where
- Bureau County, Princeton
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.370, -89.470
Hail, Bureau
- When
- May 18, 8:11 PM CST
- Where
- Bureau County, Princeton
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.370, -89.470
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, May 18 to 20, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 18, 1997
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 18, 1997
- Hail in Kansas, May 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, May 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 1997Warnings in Illinois, May 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: 5598639, 5598640, 5598652, 5598653, 5598654, 5598655, 5598656, 5598657, 5598659, 5598658, 5598660, 5598661, 5598662, 5597970.