Ominous clouds tonight caused folks to think tornadoes were forming around the Stateline. Andy captured a couple photos of these so-called tornadoes over Winnebago. In fact they were NOT tornadoes, but rather "cold air funnels."
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| 6pm in Winnebago |
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| 6pm in Winnebago |
These funnels occur on the back end of a cold front in a cooler air mass--like we had today. Temps were only in the upper 80s Saturday, compared to the mid 90s we saw on Friday. Winds at the surface come from a different direction than winds in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. Saturday afternoon, a lake breeze advanced from Lake Michigan while upper atmospheric winds blew from the north. This caused weak rotation and narrow funnels to form. The funnels are very high in the atmosphere because the air is relatively stable and dry. But, we were just moist enough to have condensation occur and funnels to be visible.
These funnels occur on the back end of a cold front in a cooler air mass--like we had today. Temps were only in the upper 80s Saturday, compared to the mid 90s we saw on Friday. Winds at the surface come from a different direction than winds in the mid-levels of the atmosphere. Saturday afternoon, a lake breeze advanced from Lake Michigan while upper atmospheric winds blew from the north. This caused weak rotation and narrow funnels to form. The funnels are very high in the atmosphere because the air is relatively stable and dry. But, we were just moist enough to have condensation occur and funnels to be visible.
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