Storm season is upon DeKalb and funnel clouds aloft were sighted over DeKalb near First Street and Bethany Road on Tuesday at about 5:30 p.m.

“There was no tornado warning issued because there was no danger of touch down,” NIU staff meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste said.

Sebenste spotted the clouds about 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the ground.

The air near the ground lacked the humidity and warmth to allow the funnel clouds to touch down, he said.

“Basically what happened was we had instability aloft to produce thunderstorms,” Sebenste said.

Although most of the time funnel clouds in this situation do not touch down, there is always a danger.

“Sometimes freaky things do happen and if you see a funnel cloud it should be watched,” Sebenste said.

The storms Tuesday also produced some significant hail.

The ground in the area of Bethany Road and First Street was completely covered with pea-sized hail, Sebenste said.

“[The hail] turned everything white and the roads actually got slick for awhile,” he said.

Large hail is often a precursor to a tornado, Sebenste said. If the hail is larger than a golf ball, it may indicate tornadic activity.