A powerful complex of severe thunderstorms swept across portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on June 9, 2026, producing destructive straight-line winds, giant hail, and several tornado reports. It produced destructive straight-line winds, giant hail, and several tornado reports. Most notably, widespread wind damage stretched from Nebraska to North Dakota. As a result, widespread damage occurred to homes, agricultural infrastructure, trees, and power systems.
Damaging Winds Dominate the High Plains
While tornadoes and large hail were reported during the event, the most widespread impacts resulted from severe thunderstorm winds. Numerous observing sites across Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota recorded severe wind gusts, with many locations exceeding 70 mph. A large thunderstorm complex organized and accelerated eastward through the evening and overnight hours.
The strongest measured wind gust recorded reached 90 mph near Tunerville in Deuel County, South Dakota. Additional gusts included 85 mph near Heartwell, Nebraska, and 83 mph near Lake Preston, South Dakota. Also, multiple 80 mph reports were recorded across south-central Nebraska. There were numerous observations between 70 and 80 mph across the region.
In Nebraska, reports included overturned irrigation pivots, snapped power poles, damaged outbuildings, and partially removed roofs. Downed trees and structural damage were observed around Kearney, Heartwell, Funk, Prosser, Trumbull, and surrounding communities. Near Heartwell, several large trees and power poles were reportedly knocked down around El Charman Lake. Meanwhile, nearby farmsteads sustained outbuilding damage.
Emergency management in Kingsbury County, South Dakota reported overturned campers near Lake Thompson and downed power lines around Lake Preston. Additionally, numerous uprooted trees were noted. Reports from Hamlin and Deuel Counties described damaged irrigation pivots and roofing and siding damage to homes. Moreover, large trees were snapped or uprooted, and there was extensive tree damage along rural roadways.
Farther east, the severe wind corridor continued into western and central Minnesota. Numerous communities reported downed trees and power lines, including Madison, Dawson, Appleton, Benson, Morris, Alexandria, Sauk Centre, and Forest Lake. In Hoffman, Minnesota, reports included damaged campers and grain bins that were thrown or damaged. There was also a multiple-car train derailment associated with the storm’s passage.
The nature of the damage suggests that organized thunderstorm clusters and embedded downburst activity were responsible for much of the destruction across the region.
Large Hail Reported
Large hail accompanied many of the stronger storms, particularly across North Dakota and Nebraska. Emergency management reported hail measuring 3.00 inches in diameter in Fortuna in Divide County, North Dakota, the largest hail report of the day. Additional significant hail reports included 2.75-inch hail west-northwest of Tryon, Nebraska. There were also multiple golf-ball-sized hail reports across western and northwestern North Dakota.
Communities near Richardton, Hebron, Noonan, Alamo, and Fortuna experienced some of the largest hailstones. Several reports noted hail growing rapidly from smaller stones to golf-ball size and larger as storms intensified.
Tornado Reports Across Four States
Several tornado reports were received throughout the day, although preliminary information suggests most were brief and relatively localized.
In Michigan, reports from the Freeland area in Saginaw County described damage to dozens of homes. This included roof and siding damage, along with overturned campers. A separate report near Montrose in Genesee County documented a brief tornado observed in a farm field.
Additional tornado reports were received near Noonan, North Dakota; Henry, South Dakota; and near Sunburg, Minnesota. The Minnesota tornado was later confirmed as a brief EF-U tornado based on video evidence, though no damage was reported.
At the time of writing, additional National Weather Service survey results may still be pending for some tornado reports associated with this event.
The day’s events unfolded across a broad corridor from the central High Plains into the Upper Midwest. Strong instability combined with favorable wind shear and organized thunderstorm development. Consequently, the resulting damage pattern across Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and North Dakota reflected the transition from isolated severe storms to a large-scale wind-producing convective system.
This data came from Storm Reports provided by the Storm Prediction Center: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/
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