Hail size 1"
1 NW Oak Lawn Cook County
“Relayed via mping. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Cook
Hail in Chicago · Jul 27, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 2.75" aloft. At 2.75" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 2.75" ≈ baseball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 981,071
Ground reports 15 7 hail · 8 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Jul 27, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Chicago has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 8.1 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
8.1 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 69 /100
- Homes exposed
- 100 /100
- Ground truth
- 100 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Chicago saw the hail — from two instruments
Jul 27, 2026 · Chicago, IL
Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Max size
0"
Detections
0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Max size
2.75"
The storm in context
Where Jul 27, 2026 sits in Chicago's hail record.
This was Chicago's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 24 days after the Jul 3, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Chicago at 2.75" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Jul 27, 2026 convective day was bigger than Chicago: the same system put hail over 803 other tracked cities, 130 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Oak Park (5 miles west, up to 1.5"); Berwyn (9 miles southwest, up to 1.5"); Berkeley (10 miles west, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Chicago storm dates on a live map — both surfaces, the reports, and a replay — and the same map is where you draw the swath. This page rebuilds nightly.
Ground reports
What people on the ground reported
15 reports filed with the NWS
These are storm reports filed with the National Weather Service and released through the NOAA Storm Prediction Center — public-domain observations from spotters, the public, and NWS surveys. We quote each one exactly as filed.
Hail reports
7 reports Hail size 1.5"
1 E La Grange Park Cook County
“Relayed via mping. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
1 SSW Merrionette Park Cook County
“Photo of hail in Alsip. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
1 SW Evergreen Park Cook County
“Relayed via mping. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.25"
1 W Northerly Island Cook County
“Relayed via mping. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
1 E Greater Grand Cross Cook County
“Relayed via mping. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
1 NW West Ridge - Chica Cook County
“A brief period of 1-inch diameter hail near Kedzie and Touhy. Time estimated from radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind reports
8 reports Wind gust 66 mph
1 S Palos Park Cook County
“Private weather station KILPALOS2 reported 66 mph gust. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 74 mph
Midway Airport Cook County
“(LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 74 mph
3.0 SW Midway Airport Cook County
“Also observed nickel sized hail and 2.83 inches of rainfall. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 64 mph
3 NE Navy Pier LMZ741 County
“Peak gust of 56 knots at the Harrison-Dever Crib 3 miles offshore from Chicago. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 74 mph
3 NE Navy Pier LMZ741 County
“Peak gust of 65 kt the Chicago Harrison-Dever Crib 3 miles offshore of Chicago. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 62 mph
Lakeview - Chicago Cook County
“Private weather station KILCHICA1037 reported 62 mph gust. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 63 mph
Lakeview - Chicago Cook County
“Private weather station KILCHICA1231 reported 63 mph gust. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 59 mph
North Park - Chicago Cook County
“Private weather station KILCHICA929 reported 59 mph gust. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
How the storm moved
Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Hail was reported over 278 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Oak Lawn, La Grange Park, Merrionette Park, Evergreen Park, Northerly Island, and Greater Grand Cross — beyond Chicago itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.75" hail means for Chicago roofs.
Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
981,071 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$12B
Potential roof exposure — 981,071 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 4,905 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$74M
Close just 0.5% of the 981,071 homes in this footprint at the average $15,000 roof job. Illustrative math, not a projection — your results depend on your outreach and how the market responds.
Claim window
July 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around July 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $206,025 on top of the $150 plan.
Chicago hail history
Other storms in Chicago.
7 recorded storm days in Chicago, IL
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Aug 9, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Jul 3, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.75"
5 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Jul 2, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Jun 24, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Apr 17, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Chicago / IL
Mar 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
2 ground reports Open report →
The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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A storm day here is a convective day — it runs from noon to noon
UTC, so late-night hail is grouped with the afternoon storm that
spawned it rather than split across two calendar dates. Ground
reports are public-domain observations from the NOAA Storm
Prediction Center. Radar tells you where to look. Only an inspection confirms damage at an address. Last updated Aug 10, 2026.