Illinois, 2003

Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 28, 2003

May 28, 2003 · NWS LOT · 26 events in 12 counties and zones

Severe thundestorms developed during the afternoon hours of May 28th and quickly moved southeast across northern and eastern Illinois. Trees and power lines were reported down across many areas.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$70,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
26

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 LOT wrote it up.

Severe thundestorms developed during the afternoon hours of May 28th and quickly moved southeast across northern and eastern Illinois. Trees and power lines were reported down across many areas. Will county was one of the hardest hit areas. In Bolingbrook, 16 homes were damaged on Saffron and Sparrow streets and Timber Mill Court, by winds over 70 mph, flying debris and falling trees. In Plainfield in Will county, 60 feet of a 100 foot tall radio tower fell over and had to be replaced. Many trees were also blown down in the Plainfield area. In addition to the wind damage, hail was reported across many locations in Will county. In Dupage county, three foot diameter trees and several utility poles were blown down one mile east of the intersection of Route 38 and Route 59. A tractor trailer was blown over at Route 59 and Ferry road just west of Naperville in Dupage county. In Aurora in Kane county, large trees blocked South Lincoln Avenue near Spring Lake Cemetery. A large tree was also blown down at Park and Madison streets in Batavia in Kane county. Kankakee in Kankakee county also suffered wind damage. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the city. Severeal tractor trailers were blown over and a car was total by a fallen tree. In addition to the severe winds and hail, a few weak tornadoes were also reported. In Morris in Grundy county, winds damaged tree limbs and blew around corn stalks and other debris.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 28, 11:47 AM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 28, 11:47 AM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1245 PM CDT TUE MAY 27 2003

AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 18Z TAFS...
PRE-FRONTAL SHOWERS ENDING THEIR PASSAGE ACROSS TAF AREA. COLD FRONT
REMAINS TO THE WEST WITH POSSIBILITY OF SOME PRECIP DEVELOPMENT
LINGERING UNTIL FROPA. FIRST SIGNS OF CU BUILDUP VISIBLE ON
SATELLITE AND A FEW 40 DBZ RETURNS SHOWING ON RADAR BUT ACTIVITY IS
WIDELY SCATTERED. HAVE CHOSEN TO KEEP TAFS DRY FOR NOW WITH THE
EXPECTATION THAT FROPA WILL OCCUR ABOUT/AFTER THE TIME OF BEST
HEATING AND PROB IS RELATIVELY LOW. AM CROSS SECTIONS SUGGEST MAX
UVV GOING THROUGH NORTHEAST IL ATTM FURTHER LIMITING CHANCES. SOME
COLD AIR SC EXPECT BEHIND FRONT TIL SUNSET. TIGHT GRADIENT WILL KEEP
NORTHERLY WIND SPEEDS BRISK UNTIL ABOUT 06Z.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION FOR 11AM ZONE UPDATE

FIRST BATCH SHOWERS MOVING ACROSS N IL BUT HITTING LOT LO LEVEL DRY
AIR SO JUST SPRINKLES OR VERY LIGHT SHOWERS. FRONT STILL BACK IN IA
WITH BETTER SURFACE DPS. ALL MODELS STILL SHOW SOME OMEGA BACK TO
00Z AND SOME SFC-850 CONVERGENCE SO WILL CARRY CHANCE PRECIP AGAIN
TIL FROPA. HIGHER POPS E AND LOWER W.

AF

.CHI...NONE
Hazardous weather outlook, May 28, 12:00 PM CST, 50 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019-020>023-032-033-039-
INZ001-002-010-011-019-282200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
100 PM CDT WED MAY 28 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST INDIANA...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE... THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

CLEARING SKIES JUST AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER AT NOON HAS ALLOWED THE AIRMASS TO RAPIDLY DESTABILIZE.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT THROUGH 7 PM. A
STRONG JET STREAM COMING INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST MAY HELP
PRODUCE SOME STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THERE IS CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

&&

           NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE

    HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE)
OR  HTTP://WEATHER.NOAA.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lake

When
May 28, 12:50 PM CST to 12:57 PM CST
Where
Lake County, Antioch
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.467, -88.100

Thunderstorm Wind, De Kalb

When
May 28, 1:50 PM CST
Where
De Kalb County, De Kalb
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.933, -88.750

A tree was blown down on 6th street near Route 26 and hit a truck and power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Boone

When
May 28, 2:00 PM CST to 2:10 PM CST
Where
Boone County, 4 mi N of Belvidere
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.300, -88.850

Hail, Kankakee

When
May 28, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Kankakee County, Bradley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.133, -87.867

Hail, Kankakee

When
May 28, 2:15 PM CST to 2:25 PM CST
Where
Kankakee County, Kankakee
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.117, -87.850

Tornado, Kane

When
May 28, 2:19 PM CST to 2:21 PM CST
Where
Kane County, 4 mi NW of Sugar Grove
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
41.783, -88.500

A weak tornado touched down 2 miles west of Route 47 off Interstate 88 in rural Kane county. The tornado was on the ground for 2 minutes. No Damage was reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cook

When
May 28, 2:29 PM CST
Where
Cook County, Wheeling
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
42.133, -87.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Du Page

When
May 28, 2:30 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, 1 mi E of Winfield
Measured
65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.867, -88.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Kane

When
May 28, 2:38 PM CST
Where
Kane County, Sugar Grove
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
41.750, -88.450

Tornado, Kendall

When
May 28, 2:39 PM CST to 2:41 PM CST
Where
Kendall County, 2 mi W of Bristol
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
41.650, -88.483

A weak tornado touched down 2 miles west of Bristol near Route 47 in northern Kendall county. The tornado was on the ground for 2 minutes. No damage was reported.

Hail, Du Page

When
May 28, 2:42 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Winfield
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.867, -88.167

Hail, Kendall

When
May 28, 2:42 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where
Kendall County, 2 mi NW of Bristol
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
41.667, -88.483

Thunderstorm Wind, Du Page

When
May 28, 2:45 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, 1 mi W of Naperville
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.783, -88.167

Thunderstorm Wind, Kane

When
May 28, 2:45 PM CST
Where
Kane County, Aurora
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.767, -88.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Du Page

When
May 28, 2:50 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Elmhurst
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
41.883, -87.950

Hail, Will

When
May 28, 2:55 PM CST
Where
Will County, Plainfield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
41.600, -88.200

Hail, Will

When
May 28, 2:58 PM CST to 3:15 PM CST
Where
Will County, Romeoville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.633, -88.067

Hail, Du Page

When
May 28, 3:00 PM CST to 3:05 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Naperville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
41.783, -88.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Will

When
May 28, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Will County, Bolingbrook
Measured
65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$35,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.667, -88.133

Hail, Du Page

When
May 28, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Lombard
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.883, -88.017

Hail, Cook

When
May 28, 3:14 PM CST to 3:19 PM CST
Where
Cook County, Lemont
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates
41.667, -88.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Grundy

When
May 28, 3:25 PM CST
Where
Grundy County, Morris
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
41.367, -88.417

Hail, Kankakee

When
May 28, 3:57 PM CST to 3:59 PM CST
Where
Kankakee County, Bourbonnais
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.150, -87.883

Thunderstorm Wind, Kankakee

When
May 28, 3:59 PM CST to 4:05 PM CST
Where
Kankakee County, Kankakee
Measured
65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$35,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.117, -87.850

Hail, Livingston

When
May 28, 4:20 PM CST
Where
Livingston County, Pontiac
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.867, -88.617

Tornado, Ford

When
May 28, 4:49 PM CST to 4:52 PM CST
Where
Ford County, 2 mi W of Paxton
Rating
F0
Path length
1.5 mi
Path width
75 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.467, -88.133

A weak tornado touched down 2 miles west of Paxton near Interstate 57 in southern Ford county. Utility poles were blown down west of Paxton.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2003Warnings in Illinois, May 2003

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: 5357584, 5357590, 5357585, 5357586, 5357587, 5357603, 5357582, 5357588, 5357583, 5357660, 5357589, 5357662, 5357591, 5357602, 5357593, 5357594, 5357595, 5357592, 5357601, 5357597, 5357596, 5357663, 5357598, 5357599, 5357600, 5357661.