639
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$18.8M
Property damage
Hail in Cook County, Illinois: 639 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 2.75. That places the county #42 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Cook County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Cook County is the 2000s, when 206 of the county's 639 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cook County archive, hail makes up 24.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #42 for this hazard and #1 within Illinois, putting it in the 98.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for hail in Cook County with 134 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2026 | (O6C) SCHAUMBURG REGIONAL AIRPORT | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | PROSPECT HEIGHTS | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | CICERO | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | STICKNEY | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | ELSDON | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | BERWYN | 2 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | WESTCHESTER | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | MC COOK | 1.25 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | BROOKFIELD | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2026 | LA GRANGE PARK | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cook County
- Thunderstorm Wind 1,384
- Flood 209
- Flash Flood 191
- Tornado 85
- Heavy Rain 61
- Lightning 57
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Multiple reports of hail up to the size of quarters were received from near Schaumburg. This included reports of quarter size hail near Higgins Road and Plum Grove Road, nickel size hail near Plum Grove Road and Golf Road, and nickel size hail near Golf Road and Meacham Road.
Numerous large hail reports were received from the near-north side of Chicago. The largest report was of golfball size hail near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Addison Street. Quarter to ping-pong ball size hail was reported near Harwood Heights, Portage Park, Old Irving Park, and just east of North Park.
Several reports of hail up to the size of quarters were received from the southern Chicago metro area. These reports include penny size hail in Hometown and quarter size hail reports in Evergreen Park and at the Interstate 94 and West 95th Street intersection.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Cook County, Illinois?
639 hail events are recorded in Cook County between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Cook County?
The strongest hail on record in Cook County measured 2.75.
Where does the hail data for Cook County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Hail in Cook County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/cook-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.