“Relayed by Broadcast Media. (ILX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Sullivan · May 4, 2026
Convective day · May 4, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 3rd most severe storm Sullivan has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 21 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 Sullivan saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
Radar signature field 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.
Estimated size field Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
The storm in context
Where May 4, 2026 sits in Sullivan's hail record.
This was Sullivan's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 7 days after the Apr 27, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 3rd of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Sullivan at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 4, 2026 convective day was bigger than Sullivan: the same system put hail over 428 other tracked cities, 239 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Bethany (5 miles west, up to 1"); Lovington (7 miles north, up to 1"); Hammond (14 miles north, up to 0").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Sullivan 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
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
2 reports“Relayed from broadcast media. (ILX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
How the storm moved
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Hail was reported over 50 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Bethany — beyond Sullivan itself.
Damage-capable hail signal
What 1" hail means for Sullivan roofs.
Quarter-size and larger hail can bruise asphalt mats, remove granules, and dent exposed soft metal. The mapped footprint identifies an inspection priority area — it does not identify which individual roofs, if any, sustained damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$120K
Potential roof exposure — 10 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Claim window
May 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 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 $2 on top of the $150 plan.
Sullivan hail history
Other storms in Sullivan.
Estimated-size surface Jun 17, 2026
3"
Estimated-size surface Apr 27, 2026
Estimated-size surface Mar 26, 2026
1.75"
NEXRAD surface Mar 15, 2026
0.75"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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