Illinois
Ask the Meteorologist: How one storm produced a violent tornado, 6-inch hail in Illinois
One storm near Kankakee, Illinois, produced a large, destructive tornado Tuesday. It also produced what will likely go down as a record hailstone for the state.
It looked like something out of a weather textbook. Let’s show you the moments we knew destruction was happening.
The hail
We’ll start with the hail.
I was getting ready for bed around 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday (since I’m up before 2 a.m.), and I checked my radar app.
The image below is what I saw.
A textbook supercell (rotating thunderstorm) was moving south of Chicago, but there was a unique feature that caught my attention.
I’ve highlighted that in the image. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a huge teller of large hail. It’s called a TBSS, or three body scatter spike.
As the radar beam hits hailstones, it gets scattered three different times. That results in the appendage you see on radar extending off the storm.
Moments later, reports came in of hail that was baseball-sized and larger. One such report could break the state’s record for largest hailstone.
The report suggested a hailstone of 6 inches in diameter.
According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, this would break Illinois’ previous record for largest hailstone – and by a long shot.
The largest hailstone on record in the U.S. happened in South Dakota, and it was measured at 8 inches in diameter.
Insane!
The tornado
While it takes time to assess the damage and come up with a rating, there was zero doubt that a tornado spawned from this storm too.
It’s common during tornadoes for there to be hail on the northern flank of the storm. It’s called the “hail core,” and it is a result of rapidly rising air.
In terms of the actual tornado, it became evident that one was active when looking at radar.
A hook echo is commonly seen in supercell thunderstorms. It’s an indication of warm air flowing into the storm, while cold air flows down its rear flank. This is your rotational aspect of the storm that extends down to the surface.
The air spins rapidly and – eventually – it picks up debris. This can show up as a ball on the southern tip of the storm.
Every bit of this storm was something out of a meteorology textbook – a marvel for those who admire the atmosphere, but a nightmare for those at ground level enduring its fury.
A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
Around 6:30 a.m., flames raced through the structures on the old racetrack grounds. Fire departments from several suburbs, as well as Northwest Indiana, were called in to help.
Balmoral Park dates back to 1926, when it opened as Lincoln Fields. The racetrack hosted both thoroughbred and harness races over the years.
A fire also damaged the grandstand at the racetrack during renovations in 1952, forcing the races for the 1952-53 season to move to Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. Balmoral in turn picked up some races in 1986 after a fire destroyed the grandstand at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights the summer before.
Balmoral Park was hosting only harness racing when it closed at the end of 2015. The property was purchased the following year by Horse Shows In The Sun as a hunter-jumper horse show venue, but this only lasted a few years and the property has stood vacant ever since, reports noted.
Illinois football is building what looks to be a pretty solid class of 2027, and they are all in-state commits thus far.
The Illini have four players pledged for 2027. The national recruiting ranking is creeping up, too. Bret Bielema has us sitting at No. 57 in the country, which is a big improvement from the sub-No. 80 we were just weeks ago.
I love that Bielema is securing top talent, and they are all from the state of Illinois. Well, we could be adding another in-state talent in the near future.
On Saturday, according to 247Sports, Bennett Konkey is now going to be taking an official visit to Illinois. The visit will be on the weekend of June 12.
Konkey is a big-time recruit. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Geneva High School in Illinois is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 737 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 87 wide receiver in the country and the No. 26 player coming out of Illinois.
As of right now, Illinois is his only official visit that is set up. He has scholarship offers from some big-time programs like Duke, Wisconsin, and Iowa State, but Illinois seems to be on the inside track to land this kid.
There is a lot to love about Konkey’s game, too. The biggest thing that pops off the screen is his speed. He is a track athlete, so he can burn down the field. Having a nice big body helps at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. That combination of size and speed is dangerous.
Bret Bielema is building a nice stable of wide receivers on the Illinois football roster
What is great about Bielema’s recruiting right now is that he knows the important positions. Having a good quarterback and offensive line is crucial. That quarterback also needs weapons.
Collin Dixon is going to be an All-Big Ten wide receiver this season. You can go down the line and point out some crucial pieces out wide in 2026. Hudson Clement and Brayden Trimble will be big this season. New additions Alex Perry and Ty Robinson will also have a say in snaps.
In 2027, Perry, Robinson, and Clement will depart, among others. That should give someone like Konkey the runway to see snaps and maybe even some starts as a freshman.
I think this kid has a chance to be a really good player at the next level. He isn’t one of these little scrappy type of slot receivers. Konkey is someone who can play out wide or in the slot. His versatility is phenomenal, and my hope is we can land him and continue building.
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