NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Map of the extensive hail and downburst wind swaths over parts of eastern Montgomery, southwest Shelby and northern Fayette counties in central Illinois (morning of July 18, 2003).

During the early morning (500 - 630 am cdt) of July 18, 2003, the first of two supercells traveled nearly south and produced extensive hail damage to homes, out-buildings, corn and soybean crops across parts of far eastern Montgomery, southwest Shelby, and northern Fayette counties in central Illinois.   Over 19000 acres of corn and soybean crops were damaged or destroyed within the hail swath.  Witnesses observed that most of the hail was 1.00 to 1.50 inches in diameter. However, a few areas experienced hail nearly 2.54 inches in diameter.   Hail completely covered the ground mainly over the western two-thirds of the hail swath.   Hail was 2 to 3 inches deep in many places with a few isolated areas 4 inches deep.   A few large trees were downed and several large tree limbs were snapped within the downburst wind and hail swaths.  Along the far western side of the downburst wind swath some of the corn within the fields were nearly flattened (lying south).