The Lightning Hunter

BOOM!!!!!! Closest CG of my entire life! 6:45PM from an isolated supercell in S TN.

@MatthewCappucci Ehhhhh the Powerball would allow me to literally never stop chasing and replace cars destroyed during core punches.

If someone gave me the option of winning the Powerball or finding a record hailstone, I would 100% choose the latter.

Ok, so we have a (*new!*) new potential record for largest IL hailstone found on 3/10/2026. Thank you to the Dorris family for letting us measure! I expect this to be the new IL record, but it will not be final until the SCEC meets to vote.

@GumryWX Looks like true "anvil crawler" lightning (I'm guessing you were in front of the storm). Those are slow positive leaders, so you could probably see them moving along. They're quite a ways up, enough for scattering to add color.

Last night still doesn’t feel real, it had such incredible branching lightning. Not super bright so it seemed to have color too

Here's the 03Z sounding!

00Z sounding at Huntsville, AL launched by @UAH_UPSTORM

I'm guessing the bend in the second one is the upward negative leader connecting with the positive leader that wanted to keep going right.

@ChasingWConnor Find a big tower and capture thundersnow up close.

Im sitting here searching for any reason not to chase that blizzard and idk if I have enough confidence in pre frontal development Monday to not chase the 4 foot 70mph gust blizzard in Marquette.

NEWS: A newly funded project led by OU researcher David Schvartzman will use advanced radar technology to deepen our understanding of lightning and storm electrification. The ultimate goal? Improving severe weather warnings and better predicting the risk of structural damage and power outages from thunderstorms. link.ou.edu/4scOT7Q | @OUResearch

We have a new state of IL record for max hail size! Preliminary measurements find a maximum dimension of 6.14 inches. Thank you so much to the Denault family of Kankakee for inviting me into their home, sharing their experience, and letting me take the stone for measurement.

@seanhewittgolf @lapseR8wx Oh my god he just ran in.

WHAT is this man doing

@BoeingCompany81 @lapseR8wx Windy. Wind was blowing right to left, so I knew to keep driving forward to get out of the tor's path.

@ChrisTLHunt @lapseR8wx how was it in the bear's cage?

@StormCat5_ Also responsible for multiple 4"+ hail reports including a likely new state record.

The Kankakee Supercell is one of the most unbelievable Storms I’ve seen in a long time. This Supercell was an absolute MONSTER. It ⬇️ • Maintained a Mesocyclone for OVER 7 HOURS • Triggered 7 PDS Tornado Warnings • Produced the FIRST Tornado Emergency of the year This thing was a Tornado producing machine for HOURs. God, please be with the people affected by this Storm. Please give them your abundant LOVE 🙏

@NWSChicago Hail fell for several minutes, the largest stones fell around 4:56:31 PM CDT

3.75-4" diameter hail. 4mi SW Odell, IL. @NWSChicago

What a behemoth. I wasn't going back in there! (it was much darker than seen here)

@rfamwx @lapseR8wx I was driving south to avoid getting hit by a wedge.

@lapseR8wx @ChrisTLHunt what were you doing

@augustmat2005 @NWSChicago Amazingly, only some small dents to my car.

@ChrisTLHunt @NWSChicago Thats going to leave a mark.