Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 17 hail signatures up to 1.25", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.5" aloft.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm — see the ground reports below.
1.25"
≈ half-dollar · the largest NEXRAD radar signature611
4
1 hail · 1 wind · 2 tornadoOverview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
This was Dixon's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 2 days after the Mar 31, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Dixon at 1.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 2, 2026 convective day was bigger than Dixon: the same system put hail over 160 other tracked cities, 84 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Sterling (13 miles west, up to 1.75"); Rock Falls (17 miles southwest, up to 1.5"); Oregon (17 miles northeast, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills from Dixon's Apr 2, 2026 storm. In the Overview app the same surfaces are live — radar updating in real time, radar-estimated hail size as it forms, and NWS spotter reports pinned where they're filed — with a radar replay you can scrub back over any past day.
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.
“An NWS damage survey confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 100 mph tracked for 5.75 miles through northwestern Lee County. The tornado damaged or (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“An NWS damage survey confirmed that a brief EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 105 mph impacted a few properties along Ridge Road in southern Ogle County. One ho (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Nickel to quarter sized hail. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Estimated 60-70 mph gusts. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail was reported over 26 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Nelson and Grand Detour — beyond Dixon itself.
Quarter-size and larger hail is where asphalt shingle damage starts in earnest: bruised mats and granule loss that homeowners can't see from the ground. Most people inside the footprint won't know their roof was hit until someone inspects it.
$7.3M
Potential roof exposure — 611 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Dixon storm history — this Apr 2, 2026 storm included — sits underneath. When you're ready, draw this storm's footprint and pull highly accurate homeowner contact information for every address inside it.
Highly accurate contact information starting at $0.23 per address — every contact included. Digital leads cost $15–$40. Start with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required. See pricing
7 recorded storm days in Dixon, IL
Jul 3, 2026
1"
Jul 2, 2026
1"
Jun 11, 2026
0.5"
Jun 10, 2026
0.5"
Apr 17, 2026
1"
Mar 31, 2026
1"