TL;DR

Two tornadoes were reported Thursday across Kansas and Wyoming, accompanied by 21 hail reports and 36 wind reports spanning seven states. A brief tornado touched down over the southwest portion of Waconda Lake in Kansas, while a landspout was photographed near Gillette, Wyoming. The most significant non-tornadic damage occurred in Wichita, where wind gusts downed power poles and closed Interstate 235.

What Happened Thursday

Scattered severe thunderstorms developed across the central United States on Thursday, June 4, 2026, producing two confirmed tornadoes and widespread hail and wind damage.

The first tornado touched down at 1844 UTC (1:44 PM CDT) approximately 2 miles south of Cawker City, Kansas. According to the National Weather Service in Goodland, a storm chaser reported the tornado on the spotter network and shared photo and video evidence on social media. The tornado remained mainly over the southwest portion of Waconda Lake, and no damage was reported.

The second tornado occurred at 2105 UTC (3:05 PM MDT) about 8 miles east-northeast of downtown Gillette, Wyoming. The National Weather Service in Rapid City classified this as a landspout—a brief tornado that forms along a boundary without a mesocyclone. An emergency manager captured a photograph of the short-lived funnel.

Both tornadoes remain rated as "UNK" (unknown intensity) in preliminary storm reports, indicating that damage surveys have not yet assigned an EF rating. Given the lack of reported structural damage and the brief nature of both events, these tornadoes likely remained weak.

Wichita Wind Damage Closes Interstate

While the tornadoes remained over open terrain, straight-line winds caused more substantial impacts in populated areas.

The most significant damage occurred in Wichita, Kansas, where thunderstorm winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph struck around 1746 UTC (12:46 PM CDT). According to the National Weather Service in Wichita, power poles were downed with lines across Interstate 235, forcing closure of the highway in both directions. More than 7,000 customers lost power. Additional reports from Wichita and surrounding communities including Derby and Mulvane documented wind gusts in the 50 to 60 mph range, along with downed tree limbs.

In South Dakota, a mesonet station 12 miles east-southeast of Sunshine Bible Academy recorded an 86 mph wind gust—the highest measured wind speed of the day. Another station 7 miles east of Rosebud measured 72 mph. These intense gusts accompanied a line of storms that tracked across central South Dakota during the evening hours.

Missouri also saw scattered wind damage. Law enforcement in King City reported 50 to 60 mph gusts, while emergency managers relayed reports of uprooted trees and snapped power poles near Darlington and McFall.

Hail Across the Northern Plains

Twenty-one hail reports were logged Thursday, concentrated primarily in South Dakota with additional reports in Wyoming, Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri.

The largest hail fell in Hand County, South Dakota, where baseball-size hail (2.75 inches) was reported 4 miles east-northeast of Yale at 1939 UTC. A photo confirmed hail sizes ranging from golf ball to baseball in that area. Earlier, at 1931 UTC, golf ball hail (2.00 inches) was reported in Yale itself.

Most other hail reports ranged from quarter-size (1.00 inch) to ping pong ball-size (1.50 inches). The National Weather Service offices in Aberdeen, Rapid City, and Bismarck received multiple reports from trained spotters and the mPING crowdsourced reporting app.

In Texas, quarter-size hail fell 1 mile south-southeast of Mason around 2345 UTC, with a second wave of smaller dime-size hail following shortly after.

The Meteorological Setup

Thursday's severe weather unfolded as a shortwave trough tracked east-southeastward across South Dakota, providing large-scale lift across the Midwest. According to the Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 Convective Outlook, thunderstorms were expected to develop late afternoon and evening along a retreating surface boundary from south-central Nebraska into southern Iowa.

The SPC noted that "ample low-level moisture will reside in the frontal zone with dewpoints in the low 70s and MLCAPE values over 3000 J/kg." This atmospheric fuel, combined with sufficient deep-layer wind shear, supported supercells capable of large hail. However, the outlook also stated that "low-level winds are not expected to be particularly strong, limiting a more robust tornado risk."

That forecast proved accurate. The two tornadoes that did develop were brief and remained over rural areas, while hail and damaging winds became the dominant hazards.

The SPC placed portions of Nebraska, Kansas, and northern Illinois under a Slight Risk for severe weather—the third level on the five-tier scale. A Marginal Risk extended across surrounding areas.

Context: An Active Early June Pattern

Thursday's tornadoes bring the total to at least 10 confirmed tornadoes across the central United States over the past four days, based on recent VORTEX blog coverage.

Early June typically marks the tail end of peak tornado season in the central Plains, though severe weather remains common as the jet stream gradually lifts northward. The pattern over the past week has featured repeated shortwave troughs moving through the northern tier, each triggering rounds of thunderstorms along surface boundaries draped across the Plains and Midwest.

Friday's outlook from the Storm Prediction Center continues this theme, with another Slight Risk posted from Nebraska and Kansas into northern Illinois and the mid-Mississippi Valley. The SPC forecasts scattered thunderstorms with large hail and severe wind gusts developing late Friday afternoon and evening.

Staying Alert During Active Patterns

When severe weather becomes a multi-day story, it's easy to let vigilance slip—especially if earlier days brought warnings but no local impacts.

Thursday's events underscore the importance of monitoring conditions each day during active patterns. The Wichita wind damage, for instance, occurred during the afternoon when many people were at work or running errands. Power outages and closed highways can create cascading disruptions even when tornadoes don't materialize.

For those in the Slight Risk area Friday—particularly across Nebraska and Kansas—the Storm Prediction Center emphasizes that supercells capable of large hail are likely. The primary window for storms is late afternoon through evening, roughly 00Z to 06Z Saturday.

If you're in an area under a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch, have multiple ways to receive warnings. Outdoor sirens are designed to alert people outside, not inside buildings. Smartphone Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) for tornado warnings bypass Do Not Disturb mode on most devices, but third-party weather apps do not.

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.