Thanks to Dennis Thezan of Broadview for passing along these spectacular shots taken along the scenic walk through Cantigny in Wheaton.
![IMG_2056_2[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/IMG_2056_2%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Dennis Thezan
Thanks to Dennis Thezan of Broadview for passing along these spectacular shots taken along the scenic walk through Cantigny in Wheaton.
![IMG_2056_2[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/IMG_2056_2%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Dennis Thezan
The raspberries are ripe for picking in Central Illinois. Thanks to Diana D'Asaro who sent along these pictures of an crop for late fall. Diane reports that the raspberries are usually gone by the 4th of July and this late harvest may be the " fruits" of a year where summer really never arrived.
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![october_raspberries2009[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/october_raspberries2009%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Diana D'Asaro
![DSCN2535[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/DSCN2535%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
John DeVaney was kind enough to share these great shots showing fall in all its glorious colors. The shots were taken near Chesterton, in northwest Indiana.
Thanks to Jeannine Evans for sharing this beautiful photo with us taken Sunday afternoon, one of the nicer periods in what has been a dismal, dreary October.
![Fox%20River%20Grove[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/Fox%2520River%2520Grove%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
The season's first snowflakes fell in North Liberty, Iowa Saturday morning. Thanks to Kathy, Aaron, Asher and Wrigley Kahn for sharing these photos.
![IMG_2967 [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/IMG_2967%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
![IMG_2970 [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/IMG_2970%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Aaron Kahn
Thanks to Matthew Kulowitch for sharing this great shot of Saturday's thunderstorms that rumbled much of the day in areas from Iowa across Wisconsin into Lower Michigan, skimming along the Wisconsin- Illinois border. This shot was taken on a flight from Detroit to central Wisconsin at an altitude of about 14,000 feet.
Photo by Matthew Kulowitch
Thank to Jim Miller from west suburban Oswego who was able to capture this excellent lightning shot during last night's thunderstorms. Jim considers it his best-ever lightning photo and we couldn't agree more.
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Photo by Jim Miller
National Weather Service Coop Observer Fred Demeter sent us these pictures of a violent storm that hit near Stockton in Jo Daviess Couny in far northwest Illinois Friday evening around 6:10 p.m. Hail was up to 2 inches in diameter and dented the top of a trailer and a truck. High winds downed a large willow tree that smashed a fence as it fell.
![tree [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/tree%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
![ruler [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/tom-skilling-blog/ruler%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Fred Demeter
Thanks to Ellen and Jamie Smatlak for passing along these storm pictures from Wauconda where 1.67 inches of rain came down in just 20 minutes. Hail also accompanied the thunderstorm.
![07-23-2009_wauconda-IL_hail[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/severe-weather/07-23-2009_wauconda-IL_hail%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Hail covering the ground in Wauconda
![07-23-2009_wauconda-IL_rain[1] [640x480].jpg](http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/severe-weather/07-23-2009_wauconda-IL_rain%5B1%5D%20%5B640x480%5D.jpg)
Photos by Ellen and Jamie Smatlak