Severe Storms Sweep Across the NWKS Radio Listening Area Saturday Evening

A powerful line of severe thunderstorms rolled across eastern Colorado, northwest Kansas, and southwest Nebraska Saturday, May 16, 2026 evening, bringing destructive winds, very large hail, blowing dust, and two tornado warnings to the NWKS Radio listening area.

The first Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued at 3:52 p.m. MDT for Kit Carson County and Cheyenne County in Colorado along with Sherman County, Kansas. From there, storms rapidly intensified as they pushed east across the region through the evening hours.

Large Hail Pounds Sherman County

Some of the most significant hail reports came from Sherman County, especially around Ruleton, Kanorado, Edson, and Goodland.

Baseball-sized hail up to 2.75 inches was reported near Ruleton and Kanorado around 4:30 p.m. MDT. Tennis ball-sized hail measuring 2.5 inches was reported east of Kanorado at 4:59 p.m.

Goodland was hit especially hard between 5:20 and 6:00 p.m. MDT, with numerous reports of golf ball to hen egg-sized hail. The National Weather Service office in Goodland officially measured 2-inch hail, while another public report measured hail at 2.32 inches. A trained spotter southwest of Goodland reported hail measuring 2.70 inches.

Golf ball-sized hail also fell around Edson and areas west of Goodland, causing damage to vehicles, roofs, and property.

NWKS Radio listeners shared photos and reports from across the area. One Goodland resident posted photos of hail damage to vehicles, while another listener near Edson shared pictures of large hailstones shortly after 6:45 p.m. CDT.

Destructive Winds Slam Colby and Surrounding Areas

As storms moved east into Thomas County, winds became the biggest story of the evening.

Wind gusts climbed rapidly during the 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. CDT timeframe around Colby. The strongest measured gust reached 88 mph at a mesonet station 2 miles east-northeast of Colby at 6:47 p.m. Additional gusts of 85 mph south of Colby and 75 mph southwest of Mingo were also reported.

The powerful winds caused widespread damage across Colby, snapping power poles, damaging transformers, and knocking out electricity to large sections of town beginning around 7:40 p.m. CDT.

The outages also impacted the KXXX 790 studios.

Crews from the City of Colby worked through the night and all day Sunday restoring power. Utility crews from Goodland also came to assist with repairs. While much of the city had power restored by 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, some northwest portions of Colby — including the KXXX studios — remained without electricity until approximately 5:40 p.m. Sunday.

Tree damage was widespread around Colby and Thomas County.

One listener on Lynda Street in Colby described the winds as “very scary,” saying large limbs were torn from trees with gusts that “maybe reached 80 to 100 miles an hour.”

Another Colby listener shared a lighter moment from the storm, describing how they looked outside and saw what they thought was a bag tumbling through the yard before realizing it was actually “a poor dumb rabbit” getting rolled across the yard by the wind.

Several reports also came in of limbs and debris scattered across roads in Hoxie, Levant, and Grainfield.

Tornado Warnings and Funnel Clouds

Two tornado warnings were issued during the evening.

The first came at 6:30 p.m. MDT near Edson in Sherman County. The National Weather Service later confirmed a brief tornado west-northwest of Edson around 5:41 p.m. MDT after an NWS employee observed a ground circulation while a storm chaser reported a funnel from another angle.

Earlier, a funnel cloud was also reported southwest of Goodland around 5:30 p.m.

Later in the evening, another tornado warning was issued near Seguin in Sheridan County as storms continued eastward.

Several NWKS Radio listeners shared photos of rotating clouds and possible funnels near Seguin, Quinter, Norton Lake, Jennings, and south of Hoxie.

Dust Storms Create Dangerous Travel Conditions

Blowing dust became another major hazard as thunderstorm outflow winds surged eastward.

A Dust Storm Warning was issued at 5:08 p.m. MDT for eastern Kit Carson County and western Sherman County where winds over 70 mph reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile.

By evening, dust storms spread into Logan, Gove, and Sheridan counties. Near Grainfield and Grinnell, social media reports described near-zero visibility.

One listener traveling near the Grinnell interchange on Interstate 70 described “a severe dirt storm” with semi trucks parked under an overpass waiting for conditions to improve.

Another Oakley resident joked that they found “half an inch of dust” in their rain gauge after the storm passed.

Storm Reports Continue Across Northwest Kansas

Strong winds and storm damage reports continued well into the evening across northwest Kansas:

• Hill City recorded an 82 mph wind gust at 8:08 p.m.

• Grainfield area stations measured gusts between 65 and 72 mph.

• Hoxie saw damaging winds, heavy rain, hail, and tornado sirens around 8:30 p.m.

• Oberlin reported wind gusts near 60 mph along with rain and lightning.

• Seguin residents reported broken windows, roof damage, and severe hail.

Several listeners also reported lightning fires, downed trees, fence damage, uprooted trees, and patio furniture blown across yards.

Storm Timeline Highlights

• 3:52 p.m. MDT — First Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for eastern Colorado and Sherman County.

• 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. MDT — Baseball-sized hail reported near Ruleton and Kanorado.

• 5:20 to 6:00 p.m. MDT — Significant hail and damaging winds impact Goodland area.

• 5:08 p.m. MDT — Dust Storm Warning issued for eastern Colorado and western Sherman County.

• 5:41 p.m. MDT — Brief tornado confirmed near Edson.

• 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. CDT — Extreme winds move through Colby with gusts approaching 90 mph.

• 7:20 to 8:30 p.m. CDT — Damaging winds, dust storms, and tornado warnings continue east through Sheridan, Gove, Graham, and Norton counties.

Residents are urged to remain weather aware again this evening as another round of severe storms is already developing across the region, with additional severe weather possible again Monday night.

NWKS Radio will continue to keep listeners updated with local storm reports, warnings, damage information, and weather updates whenever severe weather moves through the listening area.