The Storm Prediction Center has confirmed tornado touchdowns in North Dakota, extending into a new state the outbreak that struck Colorado a day earlier. Survey teams verified twisters 4 miles southwest of Hamberg and 10 miles south of Denhoff, N.D., bringing the confirmed count to three across two states over the past 48 hours, alongside the previously verified touchdown 6 miles south-southwest of New Raymer, Colo.
The tornado confirmations are only part of a far larger toll. In the same 48-hour window, the Storm Prediction Center logged 225 reports of damaging wind and 36 reports of large hail from storms spanning the central and northern Plains. That volume of wind and hail reports dwarfs the tornado count and points to a widespread derecho-style storm complex rather than isolated supercells, even as the twisters draw the most attention.
With survey work still underway in North Dakota, forecasters caution that additional tornadoes could be confirmed as damage assessments continue in the coming days — a pattern that has held throughout the week, as Wyoming survey teams reconfirmed tracks near Burns and Gun Barrel only after the fact. The North Dakota confirmations mark the first verified tornadoes of this outbreak outside Colorado and Wyoming, showing the severe weather has pushed north and east even as the immediate threat in the Plains eases.
For now, the National Weather Service’s alert activity has narrowed: three active alerts remain in force, tied to the confirmed damage in Colorado and North Dakota rather than new warnings. That marks a shift from earlier in the week, when the outbreak was defined by active tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings; the emphasis has moved to damage assessment and cleanup as survey crews work through both states.
The scale of the wind and hail reports — more than 260 combined — underscores that this outbreak’s broader impact came from straight-line wind damage and hail rather than tornadoes alone, even though the confirmed twisters in Colorado and North Dakota have drawn the headlines. The National Weather Service continues to monitor the region for any redevelopment of severe storms as survey teams finish assessing the damage left behind.