The estimated-size surface reached 2" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Kankakee that day. At 2" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Convective day · Mar 10, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
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
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.
Estimated size field 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.
The storm in context
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"); Grant Park (11 miles east, up to 2").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Kankakee 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
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
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
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.
Severe hail signal
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
Potential roof exposure
$349M
Potential roof exposure — 29,084 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Close just 0.5% of the 29,084 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
March 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around March 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 $6,108 on top of the $150 plan.
Kankakee hail history
Estimated-size surface 
Estimated-size surface 
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NEXRAD surface Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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