TL;DR

A landspout tornado touched down near Arboles, Colorado, on September 14, while 60 damaging wind reports stretched across eight states from the central Plains to the Southeast. The most intense wind gust—87 mph—was recorded in Colorado. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.

What happened on September 14

Severe thunderstorms produced one confirmed tornado and widespread damaging winds across the central United States on September 14, 2026. The National Weather Service received 61 total severe weather reports spanning Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Texas.

The lone tornado of the day was a landspout reported at 2230 UTC (4:30 pm MDT) near Arboles in southwestern Colorado, according to the NWS office in Grand Junction. Landspouts are tornadoes that form along the leading edge of a thunderstorm updraft, typically weaker and shorter-lived than supercell tornadoes. The tornado's EF rating has not yet been determined.

Wind damage dominated the severe weather reports. Sixty separate wind events were logged, with measured gusts ranging from 58 mph to 87 mph. The strongest gust—87 mph—was recorded by a Nebraska Mesonet station 3 miles northeast of Guide Rock, Nebraska, at 2124 UTC. That wind speed exceeds the threshold for EF-0 tornado damage and is capable of snapping large tree branches, downing power lines, and causing structural damage to roofs and siding.

Where the strongest winds hit

The most concentrated severe wind activity occurred across Kansas and Nebraska between 1950 UTC and 2320 UTC (roughly 2 pm to 6 pm local time). Multiple personal weather stations and official observing sites recorded gusts above 65 mph.

Notable wind reports included:

  • 83 mph near Smith Center, Kansas (2147 UTC)
  • 77 mph near Amy, Kansas (2120 UTC)
  • 76 mph near Kendall, Kansas (2131 UTC)
  • 70 mph near Amy, Kansas (2132 UTC)
  • 68 mph near Bostwick, Nebraska (2123 UTC)

Wind damage extended well beyond the Plains. In Mississippi, trees were downed near Pocahontas and Brownsville, blocking roads. In Louisiana, law enforcement reported a tree blocking the northbound lane of US 171 near Longville. A power pole was knocked down east of Tucson, Arizona, blocking a road there as well.

The meteorological setup

A surface cold front pushed south-southeastward across the central Plains and Midwest on September 14, interacting with a seasonably moist airmass characterized by dewpoints in the 60s to low 70s. According to the Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 outlook, daytime heating supported the development of moderate instability by mid-afternoon along much of the front's length.

While mid-level flow remained modest, sufficient deep-layer wind shear allowed for organized thunderstorm clusters capable of producing damaging winds. The SPC noted that low-level lapse rates steepened across the southern and central Plains, where stronger heating occurred—consistent with the concentration of severe wind reports in Kansas and Nebraska.

The landspout tornado in Colorado formed in a separate environment. A moist low-level airmass and modestly enhanced west-southwesterly mid-level flow ahead of a Pacific Northwest trough supported occasional strong thunderstorms across the Four Corners region. Landspouts often develop in these marginal severe weather setups, where surface-based rotation can spin up quickly beneath a growing thunderstorm updraft.

Context: September severe weather in the Plains

Severe weather in mid-September is not unusual across the central Plains, though the frequency and intensity of events typically decline compared to the spring and early summer peak. The 87 mph wind gust represents a significant wind event for the region.

Landspout tornadoes like the one reported near Arboles are most common in the High Plains during the summer monsoon season, when surface heating and upslope flow create favorable conditions for rapid updraft development. Colorado averages around 1 tornadoes per year, with the majority occurring between May and August. September landspouts are less frequent but not rare.

The widespread wind reports across eight states reflect the broad geographic extent of the cold front and the multiple clusters of thunderstorms that developed along and ahead of it. While no single storm dominated the day's activity, the cumulative impact—downed trees, blocked roads, and scattered power outages—underscores the disruptive potential of organized severe thunderstorm clusters even in marginal setups.

Damage and impacts

Damage reports were limited to downed trees, power lines, and power poles. In Mississippi, trees blocked portions of Westhaven Boulevard, N Ratliff Road, and Cox Ferry Road. Emergency managers in Nebraska reported 65 mph winds between Nelson and Superior, though specific damage details were not included in the storm reports.

The 87 mph gust near Guide Rock likely caused localized structural damage, though no specific damage survey has been published as of this writing. Winds of that magnitude can peel shingles from roofs, overturn mobile homes, and snap utility poles.

The landspout tornado near Arboles has not been rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale. NWS Grand Junction will conduct a damage survey if warranted; landspouts often dissipate quickly and may leave minimal ground scarring, making post-event assessment challenging.

Looking ahead

The Storm Prediction Center's Day 2 outlook (valid September 16) highlights a Marginal Risk for severe thunderstorms across portions of Missouri, the Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley as the cold front continues its eastward progression. Isolated damaging winds remain the primary concern.

Residents in the Marginal Risk area should monitor local NWS forecasts and be prepared to take action if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued. Most severe weather apps will alert you to warnings, though third-party weather apps are silenced by Do Not Disturb. Wireless Emergency Alerts for tornado warnings still break through on most phones, but severe thunderstorm warnings do not trigger WEA by default.

VORTEX is a free web app at vortexintel.app that monitors severe weather nationwide. Pro ($4.99/month) places phone calls to your phone when a tornado or flash flood warning is issued for a location you care about — calls can ring through Do Not Disturb once you enable Emergency Bypass for the number, unlike most third-party app notifications.