Illinois Just Got Nailed By A State Record-Breaking Hailstone
There are a lot of things you expect to fall out of the sky during an Illinois thunderstorm. Rain, maybe some lightning. Occasionally a tree branch if things get really nasty. But on March 10th of this year, Kankakee got something considerably more substantial.
A chunk of ice more than six and a half inches across.
Now, nearly six months later, officials have made it official. NOAA and the State Climate Extremes Committee have certified the Kankakee hailstone as the largest ever recorded in Illinois. It measured 6.603 inches at its largest axis, smashing the previous state record of 4.75 inches, set near Minooka in 2015.
This wasn't some lone freak piece of ice falling out of an otherwise ordinary storm. The supercell that moved through the Kankakee area produced multiple hailstones measuring six inches or more. The National Weather Service documented hail ranging from three inches to over six inches, along with numerous tornadoes, including an EF-3.
How Did The Weather Experts Get This Giant Hailstone To Study?
The record-setting stone was collected by a family in southeast Kankakee and stored in a freezer. Eventually, it made its way to Northern Illinois University, where researchers used 3D laser scanning to precisely measure its dimensions and volume. It weighed about 19.65 ounces, which is more than a pound of ice in a single chunk.
So, how do hailstones get that big?
When a powerful thunderstorm has an extraordinarily strong updraft, it's like an elevator for ice. A tiny ice particle gets carried upward into freezing temperatures, collects supercooled water, gets carried upward again, gains another layer of ice, and repeats the process. Eventually the hailstone becomes too heavy for the updraft to support, gravity wins, and down it comes.
Illinois Has Now Joined An Elite Club When It Comes To Hail
The largest officially recognized hailstone in the United States fell in Vivian, South Dakota, in 2010. It measured eight inches across and weighed almost two pounds.
So our Kankakee hailstone isn't the biggest in America. But at 6.603 inches, it's awfully close.
The overall world record for the heaviest hailstone ever is 2.25 pounds. It fell in Bangladesh in 1986.
The record for largest circumference is 18.75 inches with a 7 inch diameter that fell on Aurora, Nebraska in 2003.
If you're looking to see what pure hailstorm insanity looks like, check this out:
