Winter Storm and Hail in Illinois, November 29 to 30, 2006

Name: Winter Storm and Hail in Illinois, November 29 to 30, 2006
Start: 2006-11-29T09:47
End: 2006-11-30T23:59
Location: Illinois

November 29 to 30, 2006 · NWS LOT · 15 events in 14 counties and zones

A strong cold front moved across the great lakes region early on November 30th and became stationary across the Ohio River Valley. This cold front produced a few thunderstorms with some small hail.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

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.

A strong cold front moved across the great lakes region early on November 30th and became stationary across the Ohio River Valley. This cold front produced a few thunderstorms with some small hail. A winter storm developed over the southern plains and lifted northeast along this stationary front late on November 30th into the morning of December 1st. A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain began falling during the evening hours of November 30th. See Stormdata, Northeast Illinois, December 2006.

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 Nov 29, 5:45 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 29, 5:45 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
545 AM CST WED NOV 29 2006

.DISCUSSION...

...TWO PUNCH WINTER STORM TO AFFECT THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION
LATE TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

NO HEADLINES WITH THIS FORECAST BUT FORECAST HAS TAKEN ANOTHER TURN
INCLUDING A POSSIBLE MIXED PRECIP EVENT BEHIND FROPA THURS MORNING.
AFTER 06Z RUNS TUESDAY MORNING EVAPORATED SFC LOW MOVING ACROSS THE
OH VALLEY THURS NIGHT/FRI MORNING...MODELS ARE BACK IN GENERAL
AGREEMENT WITH A DEEPENING SFC LOW MOVING THRU THE OH VALLEY THURS
NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE A BAND OF SNOW...TRACK AND
STRENGTHEN ARE UNCERTAIN STILL.

BUT FIRST...COLD FRONT EXTENDS ACROSS WESTERN WI INTO EASTERN IA
THIS MORNING. THIS FRONT SLOWS AND MAYBE STALLS THRU THE DAY AS
STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW CONTINUES AHEAD OF IT. LITTLE CHANGE FROM
GOING FORECAST TODAY WITH LOW CHANCE POPS EAST TO CAT POPS NW IL
ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDER...MOST LIKELY WITH THE FRONT AND
DURING THE AFTERNOON HRS.

AS THE COLD FRONT PUSHES EAST TONIGHT...COLD AIR REALLY UNDERCUTS
WARM AIR LEAVING A WEDGE OF VERY MOIST AIR BETWEEN 900MB AND 750MB.
BY 15Z THURSDAY MORNING...SOUNDINGS AT ORD SHOW 950MB TEMPS AS LOW
AS -5C. THESE SOUNDINGS CERTAINLY SUPPORT A MIX FROM RAIN TO SNOW
WITH A PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN/SLEET. WITH THE GROUND VERY WARM
AFTER DAYS OF 50S AND 60S...AND WET FROM RAINS AHEAD OF THE FRONT...
ACCUMULATION OF MIXED PRECIP BECOMES PROBLEMATIC. AS WELL AS THE
DURATION OF MIXED PRECIP. WITH THE BLAST OF COLD AIR BEHIND THIS
FRONT...DURATION MAY BE ONLY A FEW HRS OR LESS. AND WITH WARM GROUND
THINK FREEZING RAIN POTENTIAL IS LIMITED WITH A SLEET/SNOW MIX MORE
LIKELY. WILL MIX/CHANGE PRECIP OVER NW CWA AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
WITH A MIX ACROSS THE REST OF THE CWA THURS MORNING. GIVEN THE
UNCERTAINTY WITH THE WARM/WET GROUND...DURATION OF MIXED PRECIP AS
WELL AS QPF...PRECIP VERY WELL MAY BE JUST ABOUT OVER BY THE TIME
THE SWITCH/MIX WOULD HAPPEN...WILL INTRODUCED MIXED PRECIP IN THE
FORECAST BUT KEEP AMOUNTS LOW AND NO ADVISORIES THIS MORNING.
HOWEVER...GIVEN THAT THIS CHANGEOVER MAY OCCUR NEAR OR SHORTLY AFTER
THE AM RUSH THURSDAY MORNING...WILL NEED TO MONITOR CLOSELY WITH
THE NEXT FORECAST TODAY.

TEMPS WILL DROP SHARPLY WITH FROPA TONIGHT. TEMPS UNTIL FROPA WILL
REMAIN IN THE 50S/60S. STILL IN THE 30S BEHIND THE FRONT UNDER CLOUD
COVER BUT FURTHER IN THE PLAINS...TEMPS CURRENTLY ONLY IN THE TEENS
AND SINGLE DIGITS...THOUGH NOT EXPECTING TEMPS TO DROP THAT LOW
HERE. WIND CHILLS THURSDAY MORNING IN THE TEENS AND BY FRI
MORNING...PERHAPS WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS NW
IL.

SECOND PART OF THE SYSTEM IS THE SFC LOW WHICH ALL THE MODELS NOW
PICK UP ON...THURS NIGHT INTO FRI. BOTH THE NAM/GFS WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE NW EDGE OF THE SNOW WOULD EXTEND FROM ROUGHLY CHICAGO SW TO
PEORIA. HAVE BROUGHT CHANCE POPS BACK ACROSS NORTHERN IL AND LIKELY
POPS ACROSS THE SE CWA. WITH EXACT TRACK OF THIS LOW UNCERTAIN...NO
HEADLINES THIS MORNING BUT WILL HAVE SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 3 INCHES
ACROSS THE SE CWA...GENERALLY SE OF GYY/IKK/PNT LINE. THIS TOO WILL
NEED TO BE WATCHED AS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR MORE SNOW ESPECIALLY
FURTHER EAST INTO NORTHERN INDIANA. SNOW TAPERS OFF FRIDAY MORNING
AS SFC LOW DEPARTS. NO CHANGES FRIDAY NIGHT ON.

&&

.AVIATION DISCUSSION REGARDING 12Z TAFS...
600 AM CST

WHILE CLEARING SKIES APPEARED EVIDENT...RESIDUAL MOISTURE HAS FORMED
A NEW ST LAYER AROUND 1K FEET. CONSIDERING EXTENT OF THIS LAYER
...WILL KEEP IT CLOUDY THRU 24 HOURS. RAIN CHANCES RETURN THIS
EVENING WITH CLOSING-IN COLD FNT. AHEAD OF THIS FNT THIS AFTN...SHUD
SEE SHOWERS RETURN WITH PASSAGE OF RRQ OF UPR JET. SOUNDINGS ABOVE
900 MB SUPPORT TSTMS IF THEY CAN REFORM IN ALL THIS DENSE STRATUS.
DID NOT ENTER THEM IN TERMINALS SINCE CHANCE OF ANY TERMINAL SEE
THUNDER IS GOING TO BE SMALL VERSUS THE AREA FORECAST. BASED ON
SPEED OF OVERNIGHT SHOWERS...RAINFALL WILL BE QUICK TO BEGIN AND
END. CHANGEOVER TO SLEET AFTER MIDNGT TONIGHT WELL AFTER STRONG COLD
FNT SWEEPS THRU TERMINALS IN THE LT AFTN TO EARLY EVENING. RATHER
STRONG SOUTH WINDS THIS MRNG WILL SLACK OFF TO 10-15 KTS BY NOONTIME
THEN PICK UP TO 30 KTS TONIGHT FROM THE NORTH AFTER FROPA THIS
EVENING.

RLB
&&

.LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.IL...NONE.
.IN...NONE.
.LM...SCA THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 29, 4:30 AM CST, 5 hours 17 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
430 AM CST WED NOV 29 2006

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>022-023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-
019-301030-
WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE IL-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE-DU PAGE-COOK-
LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-IROQUOIS-FORD-
LAKE IN-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON-
430 AM CST WED NOV 29 2006

THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL
AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

.DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE
FROM EVANSTON...TO JOLIET...TO PONTIAC. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THIS EVENING...AND EAST OF
INTERSTATE 57 AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 AND
WEST OF INTERSTATE 57. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ILLINOIS TONIGHT. THERE
IS A CHANCE OF A MIX OF SLEET AND SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT WEST OF A LINE
FROM MUNDELEIN...TO AURORA...TO STREATOR. LITTLE OR NO ACCUMULATION
IS EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY
MORNING. A BRIEF PERIOD OF A MIX OF SLEET...SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN
IS POSSIBLE THURSDAY MORNING AFTER THE COLD FRONT PASSES. LITTLE OR
NO ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST ALONG THIS COLD FRONT
ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THIS
STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION. IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE EXACT
AMOUNTS OR LOCATIONS. HOWEVER...IF CURRENT TRENDS VERIFY...AREAS
ACROSS NORTHWEST INDIANA MAY RECEIVE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW BY FRIDAY
MORNING. ANYONE WITH TRAVEL PLANS ACROSS THE LOWER GREAT LAKES
THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS REGARDING THIS
POTENTIAL WINTER STORM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND THIS EVENING.

&&

COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE
NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)

LMZ740>745-766-301030-
WINTHROP HARBOR IL TO MICHIGAN CITY IN-
LAKE MICHIGAN-
430 AM CST WED NOV 29 2006

THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ILLINOIS
AND INDIANA WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

&&

COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE
NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 16 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 winter storm, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Du Page

When: November 29, 9:47 AM CST to 9:49 AM CST
Where: Du Page County, 1.48 mi SSE of Willowbrook
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.730, -87.980

Winter Storm, Livingston

When: November 30, 6:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Streator was 8.0 inches.

Winter Storm, Cook

When: November 30, 7:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cook forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Storm total snowfall in Palatine was 11.7 inches. Storm total snowfall at Chicago O'hare Airport was 6.2 inches.

Winter Storm, La Salle

When: November 30, 7:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: La Salle forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Peru was 17.3 inches and was 14.5 inches in Mendota.

Winter Storm, Will

When: November 30, 7:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Will forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Storm total snowfall in Plainfield was 6.5 inches. One inch of sleet was reported in Joliet before changing to snow.

Winter Storm, De Kalb

When: November 30, 8:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: De Kalb forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.894, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in DeKalb was 12.0 inches.

Winter Storm, Du Page

When: November 30, 8:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Du Page forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Naperville was 6.9 inches.

Winter Storm, Kane

When: November 30, 8:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kane forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Elgin was 11.0 inches.

Winter Storm, Kendall

When: November 30, 8:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Kendall forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.591, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in West Plainfield was 6.0 inches.

Winter Storm, Lee

When: November 30, 8:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Dixon was 13.5 inches.

Winter Storm, Boone

When: November 30, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.323, -88.823 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Belvidere was 10.2 inches.

Winter Storm, Lake

When: November 30, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall was 12.8 inches in Beach Park.

Winter Storm, McHenry

When: November 30, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: McHenry forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.324, -88.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Harvard was 14.8 inches and was 12.1 inches in Woodstock.

Winter Storm, Ogle

When: November 30, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Ogle forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.043, -89.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall was 14.0 inches in Creston and was 13.5 inches in Rochelle.

Winter Storm, Winnebago

When: November 30, 10:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Winnebago forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.336, -89.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Storm total snowfall in Rockford was 14.0 inches and 10.7 inches was reported at Rockford Airport.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, November 2006

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: 5765, 5789, 5774, 5784, 5793, 5775, 5776, 5780, 5782, 5788, 5772, 5786, 5791, 5792, 5794.