The radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 2" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over Kankakee this day. At 2" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm — see the ground reports below.
2"
≈ tennis ball · radar-estimated size aloft29,084
21
18 hail · 3 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.
Two instruments, one storm: NEXRAD logs the point signatures it detected overhead, while the estimated-size surface models how large the hail aloft could have grown. Agreement between them is not guaranteed — the gaps are where the model ran ahead of, or behind, the detections.
Radar-estimated maximum hail size across the swath, modeled from radar aloft. It reflects the biggest stone the storm could support, which may differ from what actually fell.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Mar 10, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Kankakee, so there is one map to show, not two.
This was Kankakee's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Kankakee at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Mar 10, 2026 convective day was bigger than Kankakee: the same system put hail over 470 other tracked cities, 100 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Bourbonnais (3 miles north, up to 2"); Manteno (6 miles northeast, up to 2"); Herscher (15 miles southwest, up to 2").
These maps are stills from Kankakee's Mar 10, 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.
“*** 2 FATAL *** A tornado begin just west of the Kankakee Airport and tracked 36.6 miles across Kankakee and Newton Counties before dissipating in far northwest Jasper (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Kankakee County EMA reports tornado touch down near I-57 and Justice Way. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Video shows tornado on the ground near the Kankakee Airport. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Report from mPING. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo shared by storm chaser shows 5.2 inch diameter hail just southwest of Kankakee. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Corrects previous hail report from 3 N Irwin. Photo shared to social media shows 4 inch diameter hail near Irwin. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“3 inch diameter hail reported in Kankakee. Relayed via amateur radio. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo shared to social media shows softball size hail near Beckman Park in Kankakee. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“delayed report. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Baseball size hail reported on the south side of Kankakee. Relayed via social media. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Hail broke windows in Bradley. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo shows hailstone approximately 6 inches in diameter in southeastern Kankakee. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“A hailstone measuring 156 mm or 6.14 inches in diameter... 16 inches in circumference... and 16.25 oz in weight was found on Osborn Ave in Kankakee... Illinois. The hai (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo shared to social media shows approximately 4.5 inch diameter hail on the south side of Kankakee. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Correction to date. Public report of hail up to Grapefruit size near Plum Creek Drive and Braemer Way in Bourbonnais. Time estimated by radar. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Multiple public reports of hail in Bourbonnais. The largest hailstones were measured to be 3 inches in diameter. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Reported at Route 17 and Sandbar Road. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Relayed via amateur radio. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Multiple trained spotter reports of quarter size hail in Bonfield. (LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
The storm tracked east at roughly 15 mph, based on the timing of ground reports.
Hail was reported over 56 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Kankakee Airport, Irwin, Bradley, Bourbonnais, Aroma Park, and Sun River Terrace — beyond Kankakee itself.
Two-inch-plus hail punctures shingles, breaks skylights and windows, and dents anything soft. In the core of a footprint like this, close to every roof is a candidate for an insurance claim. Speed decides who writes those jobs.
$349M
Potential roof exposure — 29,084 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 Kankakee storm history — this Mar 10, 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 Kankakee, IL
Jul 27, 2026
1.5"
Jul 9, 2026
1"
Jun 7, 2026
2.25"
May 4, 2026
1"
Apr 13, 2026
1.75"
Mar 31, 2026
1"