Hail in Illinois — where it hits, county by county
Hail is a fact of life on Illinois ground — 824 National Weather Service hail reports in the last 5 years, led by Madison County, peaking around March. The table below ranks the counties; the interactive national map shows exactly where, year by year. Checking a specific address? The map’s search box pulls every dated report within 25 miles.
Open the interactive map on Illinois →Top hail counties in Illinois (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 149 | 29.8 | Mar | 38% |
| Cook | 113 | 22.6 | May | 16% |
| Will | 74 | 14.8 | Mar | 22% |
| Sangamon | 67 | 13.4 | Apr | 30% |
| COOK | 63 | 12.6 | Apr | 22% |
| DuPage | 63 | 12.6 | Mar | 44% |
| Henry | 57 | 11.4 | Feb | 11% |
| ST. CLAIR | 51 | 10.2 | Mar | 18% |
| St. Clair | 50 | 10.0 | Mar | 28% |
| McLean | 46 | 9.2 | May | 33% |
| Williamson | 46 | 9.2 | Jun | 33% |
| Macon | 45 | 9.0 | Apr | 47% |
Illinois hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in Illinois?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in Illinois are Madison, Cook, Will. Reports track population and spotter coverage as well as storms, so rural corridors can be under-counted; the persistent leaders on this table are real hail geography.
When is hail season in Illinois?
Reported hail in Illinois peaks around March, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of Illinois's hail is damaging?
On this page, damaging means reported stones of 1.5″ or larger — the size that reliably dents roofs and vehicles and strips crops. The per-county damaging share is in the table; statewide, hail of any size totaled 824 reports over 5 years.