TL;DR

A landspout tornado touched down near Commerce City, Colorado Friday evening, lasting approximately seven minutes. The tornado was one of 167 severe weather reports across 20 states, including 145 damaging wind reports and 21 hail reports.

Friday's Tornado: Commerce City, Colorado

At 2131 UTC (3:31 PM MDT) on August 14, 2026, a landspout tornado touched down approximately two miles east-northeast of Commerce City, Colorado, near Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The National Weather Service in Boulder confirmed the tornado based on reports and photographic evidence.

According to the local storm report, the landspout lasted approximately seven minutes. Landspout tornadoes form along the leading edge of developing thunderstorms, typically beneath weak updrafts, and are generally weaker and shorter-lived than tornadoes that form from supercells. They develop when rising air stretches existing horizontal rotation near the ground into a vertical vortex.

No EF rating has been assigned yet. The NWS will typically conduct a damage survey or analyze available evidence to determine intensity. As of this writing, no significant damage have been reported in connection with this tornado.

The Commerce City landspout was Colorado's only confirmed tornado on Friday, though the state also saw large hail in Englewood earlier in the evening.

Widespread Wind Damage Across 20 States

Friday's severe weather was dominated by damaging winds. The Storm Prediction Center logged 145 wind reports spanning from New York to Georgia, and from Indiana to Montana.

The wind reports began early, with trees downed near Staunton, Indiana around 1232 UTC (8:32 AM EDT). Activity intensified through the afternoon and evening as multiple clusters of thunderstorms tracked across the eastern United States.

Hardest-Hit Regions

Appalachians and Ohio Valley: West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina saw dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines. The National Weather Service office in Blacksburg (RNK) alone handled reports from multiple counties, including trees blocking roads in Rainelle, Ronceverte, and along the Virginia border near Ridgeway.

New York: Northern New York experienced a concentrated burst of wind damage during the late afternoon, with trees down in Gouverneur, Harrisville, Carthage, and Natural Bridge. The Burlington (BTV) and Buffalo (BUF) NWS offices documented multiple reports of trees on roadways and downed wires.

Southeast: Georgia saw scattered wind damage, with trees reported down in Worth, Irwin, and Berrien counties. Tennessee and the Carolinas also logged multiple reports.

Most wind reports did not include measured wind speeds, as is typical with thunderstorm wind damage. One exception was a measured 80 mph gust near Meriden, Kansas, recorded with a handheld Kestrel anemometer at 1655 UTC.

The widespread nature of the wind reports—spanning from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast—reflects a pattern of multiple thunderstorm complexes moving through a humid, unstable air mass. The SPC Day 1 outlook valid for August 15 noted the potential for severe wind gusts across the Ohio Valley and central High Plains, driven by a slow-moving mesoscale convective system and afternoon thunderstorm development.

Large Hail in Colorado and Arizona

While wind dominated the severe weather tally, 21 hail reports were filed across seven states, with significant hail falling in Colorado and Arizona.

Arizona Hail

Earlier in the day, Chino Valley, Arizona experienced repeated rounds of large hail between 1733 and 1855 UTC. Reports included half-dollar-sized hail, with one trained spotter confirming 1.25-inch stones around 1758 UTC. Photos shared on social media showed hail accumulation after approximately 30 minutes of melting, indicating a prolonged or intense hailfall.

Additional hail reports were scattered across Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Georgia, most in the 1.0 to 1.5-inch range.

What Drove Friday's Severe Weather?

The Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 outlook, issued on August 15, described a multi-region severe weather setup:

Central High Plains: Thunderstorms initiated over the central Rockies during the afternoon, moving eastward into the High Plains. The SPC noted "moderately buoyant" conditions and around 30 to 35 knots of effective bulk shear—enough to support supercells and multicell line segments. Isolated large hail and severe wind gusts were forecast, consistent with the reports from Colorado.

Ohio Valley: An expansive mesoscale convective system (MCS) that had moved across Illinois overnight drifted eastward into the Ohio Valley. Though the low-level jet supporting the MCS weakened during the morning, renewed thunderstorm development occurred across southeast Indiana, southern Ohio, and northern Kentucky as the system interacted with a destabilizing air mass. The SPC highlighted the potential for wet microbursts capable of damaging gusts, driven by "strong updrafts and high precipitable water."

Central Appalachians and Carolinas: A very moist air mass with dewpoints in the low to mid-70s supported moderate buoyancy across the region. Thunderstorms developed along the higher terrain and areas of low-level convergence. Vertical shear was weak, limiting organization, but strong updrafts and downdrafts still produced occasional damaging gusts and significant hail.

The 167 severe weather reports reflect a classic late-summer pattern: multiple clusters of storms firing in a humid, moderately unstable environment, with localized areas of stronger shear and lift producing more organized severe weather.

Looking Ahead

The SPC Day 1 outlook for August 15 maintains a Slight Risk across portions of the central High Plains and middle Ohio Valley, with continued potential for severe wind gusts and isolated large hail. A Marginal Risk extends across the central Appalachians and into the Carolinas and Georgia, where afternoon heating and high moisture will again support pulse severe thunderstorms.

Saturday's pattern mirrors much of Friday's setup: scattered severe weather across multiple regions, with the highest potential in areas where shear and instability overlap. Residents in the outlined risk areas should monitor local forecasts and be prepared to act on warnings.

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