The tornado outbreak that has gripped the central and southern United States this week contracted to its narrowest daily footprint, with the Storm Prediction Center confirming just three tornado touchdowns in the most recent reporting period — down from 24 the previous day and 34 at the event’s peak two days prior.
Three tornadoes were confirmed across three states: 13 miles north of Dodge City, Kansas; 10 miles southwest of Colorado City, Arizona; and 3 miles south of Sisemore, Arkansas. The National Weather Service maintained three active alerts across those same states, indicating isolated severe weather remained possible even as the organized, large-scale outbreak largely wound down.
Despite the sharp drop in tornado reports, the broader severe weather environment remained active through the same 48-hour window. The Storm Prediction Center tallied 288 damaging wind reports and 47 large hail reports — underscoring that tornado-producing supercells account for only a fraction of the hazardous conditions a system of this scale can generate.
The Kansas touchdown fell 13 miles north of Dodge City, placing the activity in the heart of the southern Plains storm corridor. Even as tornado counts dropped sharply, the region remained under an active National Weather Service alert through the reporting period.
Arkansas, which logged confirmed tornadoes the previous day alongside five other states, continued its run of storm activity. The Sisemore confirmation — 3 miles south of the community — placed the touchdown in the same general area documented across multiple days of the outbreak, a recurring geographic thread through the event’s progression.
Arizona’s inclusion in the final-phase reports stands out geographically. A confirmed tornado 10 miles southwest of Colorado City extended the outbreak’s reach into the desert Southwest, well outside the traditional Plains and mid-South corridor where the bulk of this week’s activity has been concentrated.
With confirmed tornado reports at their lowest daily count and active alerts reduced to three across three states, the Storm Prediction Center’s post-event surveys continued to document the system’s full scope. At its peak, the outbreak produced 34 confirmed tornadoes across eight states; the three new confirmations in the most recent period reflect a near-collapse of organized tornado-producing activity as the system moves toward its conclusion.