Golf-Ball Hail Hits Near Huntley, Bartlett, and Hanover Park in June 24 Storms

Last Wednesday, June 24, a line of powerful thunderstorms swept across Chicagoland with damaging winds, hail up to golf-ball size, and flooding downpours. A brief tornado was reported near Huntley, and Bartlett and Hanover Park were hit especially hard, with large tree limbs down in Bartlett. Coming just two weeks after the derecho and tornado outbreak of June 10 and 11, this was another rough day for the far northwest suburbs, and it left plenty of homeowners wondering what it did to their roofs.

Let us be direct about the hail. Golf-ball hail measures about 1.75 inches in diameter, and at that size, damage to asphalt shingles is virtually guaranteed regardless of the roof's age. Stones that large fracture the fiberglass mat beneath the granule surface, punch clean punctures in older or brittle shingles, split ridge caps, and crush the soft aluminum of roof vents, flashing, and gutter systems. Skylights crack, plastic vent covers shatter, and siding on the storm-facing walls takes dents and holes. This is not the borderline, maybe-maybe-not category of quarter-size hail. A roof that took direct golf-ball hail has damage, even when it looks fine from the driveway.

The flooding side of this storm deserves attention too. Those downpours arrived alongside wind that stripped leaves, twigs, and shingle granules onto roofs and into gutters. When gutters and downspouts clog with storm debris, water backs up under the shingle edge, overflows behind the fascia, and pools against the foundation. If your gutters overflowed on June 24, or if you have not looked in them since, it is worth checking now. A gutter system choked with debris turns every subsequent rain into a small water-damage event.

Homeowners in Huntley, Algonquin, Hanover Park, Streamwood, Bartlett, and the surrounding far northwest suburbs should document and inspect now rather than later. Photograph any hail you collected, dents in downspouts or window wraps, damaged screens, and debris in the yard, with dates. Then have the roof itself professionally inspected. Insurance claims are tied to a documented date of loss and are subject to reporting deadlines, and hail damage that goes unaddressed tends to reveal itself as leaks months down the road, when connecting it to this storm becomes far more difficult.

Storms like this are also a good moment to think about what goes on the roof next. If your shingles are damaged and a replacement is in your future, Class 4 impact-resistant shingles exist for exactly this kind of weather. Owens Corning's Duration STORM line, for example, carries a UL 2218 Class 4 rating, the highest impact classification for roofing materials, which means it is tested against the equivalent of large hail strikes. Many insurers also offer premium discounts for Class 4 roofs, so the upgrade can pay for itself over time in an area that keeps getting hit like ours has this year.

Dynasty Restoration is a local, licensed Illinois contractor and an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor, and we have spent this season inspecting and restoring storm-damaged roofs across the northwest suburbs. We offer free storm damage inspections, we photograph and document everything we find, and if insurance is involved we will meet your adjuster on site to make sure the full scope of damage is captured.

If the June 24 storms passed over your home, schedule a free inspection with Dynasty Restoration this week. Whether the answer is real damage or genuine peace of mind, you will know exactly where your roof stands before the next storm rolls through.