TL;DR

Four tornadoes were reported across Kansas and South Dakota on Sunday, May 31, 2026, as severe thunderstorms swept through the central United States. The tornadoes touched down between late afternoon and early evening, with three confirmed in South Dakota and one in Kansas. The broader severe weather outbreak produced 38 hail reports—including baseball-sized hail in Kansas—and 65 wind reports across nine states.

What Happened Sunday Evening

Severe thunderstorms developed across the central Plains and Southeast on Sunday, producing scattered tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds from the High Plains to the Tennessee Valley.

The National Weather Service received four tornado reports between 2307 UTC (6:07 PM CDT) and 0243 UTC (9:43 PM CDT). Three of the tornadoes occurred in South Dakota, concentrated in the southeastern portion of the state. The fourth touchdown was reported in east-central Kansas.

All four tornadoes remain unrated as of this writing. EF-scale ratings are typically assigned after NWS survey teams assess ground damage, a process that can take several days.

South Dakota Tornadoes

The first tornado of the evening was reported at 2307 UTC (6:07 PM CDT) approximately one mile northwest of Bridgewater, South Dakota. According to the NWS office in Sioux Falls (FSD), the tornado was observed "kicking up dust from the ground."

Nearly four hours later, at 0111 UTC (8:11 PM CDT), a second tornado was confirmed by radar approximately four miles west of Wall Lake in southeastern South Dakota. The NWS Sioux Falls office noted this was a "radar confirmed tornado," indicating the presence of a tornadic vortex signature on Doppler radar.

The third South Dakota tornado touched down at 0154 UTC (8:54 PM CDT) about five miles northeast of Centerville. This tornado was visually confirmed via a storm chaser live feed, according to NWS Sioux Falls.

Kansas Tornado

The final tornado of the evening occurred in Kansas at 0243 UTC (9:43 PM CDT), roughly two miles northwest of Madison in Greenwood County. The NWS office in Wichita (ICT) noted the report was "received via image from social media."

This tornado developed in the same region that experienced significant hail earlier in the evening. The town of Gridley, Kansas—located approximately 30 miles northwest of Madison—reported baseball-sized hail (3.50 inches) at 0352 UTC, based on video and photos shared by a storm chaser on social media.

Large Hail Across the Plains

While tornadoes garnered attention, hail was the dominant severe weather hazard on Sunday. The Storm Prediction Center received 38 hail reports, with the largest stones falling across eastern Kansas.

Notable hail reports included:

  • Gridley, Kansas: 3.50 inches (baseball size) at 0352 UTC
  • 3 E Gridley, Kansas: 2.25 inches (hen egg size) at 0350 UTC
  • Cooter, Missouri: 1.75 inches (golf ball size) at 2305 UTC
  • 5 W Gridley, Kansas: 1.75 inches at 0331 UTC
  • 3 SW Olpe, Kansas: 1.75 inches at 0204 UTC

The Gridley area, in particular, experienced a prolonged barrage of large hail as a supercell thunderstorm moved through Lyon County. Multiple reports of golf ball to baseball-sized hail were documented within a 20-minute window.

South Dakota also saw widespread quarter-sized hail (1.00 inch) across multiple counties, with reports concentrated in the south-central and southeastern portions of the state. Several locations reported heavy rainfall accompanying the hail, with one observer near Emery noting rainfall totals exceeding three inches.

Widespread Wind Damage

Wind damage was reported across a broader geographic area, with 65 wind reports spanning nine states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

Missouri bore the brunt of the wind damage, particularly in the southeastern counties. The NWS office in Paducah (PAH) documented numerous trees and power lines down throughout Cape Girardeau County, including the communities of Millersville, Jackson, Cape Girardeau, and Gordonville.

One measured wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at the Scott City airport (KCGI) in Missouri at 2053 UTC.

Trees and power lines were reported down across multiple counties in northern Alabama and western Tennessee as the line of storms pushed eastward through the evening.

The Meteorological Setup

Sunday's severe weather was driven by two distinct weather systems, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 Convective Outlook.

Over the High Plains, easterly low-level winds maintained moisture influx across eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Scattered thunderstorms developed over the Colorado foothills by mid-afternoon, with sufficient deep-layer wind shear to support supercell structures capable of large to very large hail.

As storms moved eastward into western Kansas during the evening, the SPC noted that "supercell structures may persist, but upscale growth into bowing clusters is also expected." This transition increased the risk of severe wind gusts alongside the hail threat.

In the Southeast, an occasionally severe mesoscale convective system (MCS) tracked southeastward from the St. Louis area through the morning and afternoon. The SPC outlook described "moderate CAPE values, 30+ knots of mid-level steering flow, and mesoscale organization" as key factors supporting damaging winds along the MCS's path.

By late afternoon, hot and humid conditions developed across Arkansas and Tennessee, with temperatures in the 90s and dewpoints in the 70s yielding afternoon CAPE values approaching 4000 J/kg. Scattered thunderstorm development along the western flank of the MCS produced widespread strong to severe wind gusts during the evening.

Context and Rarity

Four tornadoes in a single day across the central Plains is not unusual for early June, a period that historically sees elevated tornado activity across the region. South Dakota averages approximately 4 tornadoes per year, with peak activity occurring from May through July.

What distinguished Sunday's event was the geographic spread of severe weather. The combination of a High Plains severe weather setup and a Southeast wind event resulted in severe weather reports spanning from the Rockies to the Appalachians—a distance of more than 1,200 miles.

The large hail reports in Kansas were particularly noteworthy. Baseball-sized hail (2.75 inches or larger) is relatively rare, occurring in only a small fraction of severe thunderstorms. Hailstones of this size can cause significant damage to vehicles, roofs, and crops.

Safety Takeaways

Sunday's event underscores several important severe weather safety principles:

Tornadoes can develop quickly in the Plains. Three of the four tornadoes were reported during the evening hours, between 6 PM and 10 PM local time. While not technically nocturnal tornadoes (which occur after sunset), evening tornadoes present visibility challenges as daylight fades.

Multiple hazards often occur simultaneously. The same storms that produced tornadoes in Kansas also generated baseball-sized hail. Residents sheltering from a tornado threat may also face hail damage to vehicles and property left outdoors.

Severe weather doesn't respect state lines. Sunday's outbreak affected nine states, a reminder that severe weather systems often span multiple NWS forecast offices and warning areas. Staying informed requires monitoring weather information for your specific location, not just regional headlines.

For those in tornado-prone areas, having multiple ways to receive warnings is critical. Outdoor warning sirens may not be audible indoors, and third-party weather apps are silenced by Do Not Disturb mode on smartphones, though Wireless Emergency Alerts for tornado warnings still break through on most phones by default. VORTEX Pro addresses this gap by placing phone calls when a tornado warning is issued—calls that bypass Do Not Disturb entirely.

Looking Ahead

As of Monday morning, June 1, no tornado or severe thunderstorm watches were active. The Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 outlook maintains a Slight Risk across portions of the central High Plains and parts of the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys, indicating the potential for additional severe weather Monday afternoon and evening.

Residents across the Plains and Southeast should continue monitoring forecasts and be prepared to act quickly if warnings are issued for their area.

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.