StormProof → hail seasons → Chicago → 2014
Chicago hail season 2014
51 NWS-recorded hail reports ≥1″ within 45 miles, across 9 storm days, max 2.00". Every one of those reports is a dated, located, citable official record — the context behind this market's 2014 claim volume.
Biggest storm days (2014, final record)
| Date | ≥1″ reports | Max hail | Areas named in the record |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2014 | 24 | 2.00" | COOK, LAKE, DU PAGE, KANE |
| April 12, 2014 | 18 | 2.00" | COOK, KANE, LAKE, MCHENRY |
| August 1, 2014 | 2 | 1.00" | COOK, KANE |
| May 12, 2014 | 2 | 1.00" | COOK |
| August 26, 2014 | 1 | 1.25" | GRUNDY |
“Hail 1.50 inches to 2.00 inches was reported across portions of Sugar Grove. There were reports of broken house windows.”
— NWS event narrative, May 20, 2014 (NCEI Storm Events)
When it fell
Apr 18 · May 27 · Jun 3 · Aug 3
Wind context: the record also holds 96 thunderstorm-wind events ≥50 kt (≈58 mph, the NWS severe criterion) in this radius for 2014 — relevant where the dispute is wind vs hail causation.
Working a Chicago claim from 2014?
These are aggregates. A claim file needs the per-address record: every recorded event within 1, 3 and 10 miles of the property, distances, official narratives, and citations an adjuster can check line by line. That's the report — generated in seconds, hosted on HailEvidence (the neutral evidence surface), formatted as an insurance-appeal attachment.
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Provenance
Final counts: NCEI Storm Events Database, file vintage c20260527, hail events with recorded magnitude ≥1.00″ and point coordinates within 45 miles of the Chicago anchor. NWS records are point and path observations. The absence of a nearby report does NOT prove that no hail fell at this address — it means no observation was logged nearby. A report of nearby hail documents the event; it does not by itself prove damage to a specific structure. Spotted an error? Email the address on our terms page and we correct against the source.