Mega hailstone officially broke state record during 'most severe year for weather in recent memory'

"A real beast" of hail that dropped in Kankakee earlier this year is officially the state's largest recorded hailstone. The hailstone — measuring 6.6 inches in diameter and weighing 1.2 pounds — fell into a Kankakee backyard during a severe round of storms that also spawned 12 tornadoes back in March. Climatologists with Northern Illinois University collected the stone and brought it back to their lab to measure and preserve it. At the time, meteorologists suspected that the stone handily…