National Weather Service requests hail reports after Tuesday storms

The National Weather Service is still compiling data about Tuesday’s severe weather outbreak, and they need residents’ help in a pair of counties.

In a social media post in recent days, weather officials are requesting residents in LaSalle and Lee counties to provide reports on the size of hail that they observed during the damaging storms that rampaged through the area.

The service is also requesting photos of the hailstones, according to officials.

Damaging hail was observed in numerous counties, especially in Kankakee County where softball-size hail was reported, smashing car windows and windshields and causing significant damage to structures.

A preliminary estimate of one hailstone found that it reached a maximum dimension of 6.14 inches, which would be an all-time record for the state of Illinois if confirmed by the weather service.

The hailstone had a staggering circumference of 16 inches, and weighed more than a pound, according to researchers.

Several western suburbs of Chicago also saw hail damage, and a series of tornadoes touched down in the southern part of the Chicago area, devastating Kankakee and Aroma Park before moving into Indiana and leading to two fatalities in Jasper County.

The Chicago area could see another round of strong-to-severe thunderstorms on Sunday evening, with a winter weather advisory also in effect beginning Sunday night in the city’s western and northern suburbs, according to the National Weather Service.

The main threat with any severe storms that develop would be wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour, though an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.