CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Viewers shared awesome photos of tropical funnels with 3NEWS on Friday, most coming from viewers in Portland and Gregory.
If you've recently seen the movie "Twisters" you might have thought it was time to panic, but this weather phenomenon is generally harmless.
Tropical funnels can sometimes form when you have:
- a lot of tropical moisture
- fast wind in the upper atmosphere
- light wind closer to the ground
This makes the air rotate in a circle like a pencil rolling on a desk. When upward moving air gets involved (from our rainy weather we've been having) that horizontal tube of air gets turned vertically, making your half-tornado-looking cloud.
Now, if the funnel did reach the ground it would be considered a tornado, but this rarely happens because it would need directional wind shear or wind that is going in different directions in different layers of the sky.
In the rare chance this does happen, it can happen over water making a water spout!
So, what should you do if you see one? Don't fear, but enjoy it! Think about all the different factors listed above it takes to make it happen and snap a picture!
If you do, be sure share it with us at (361) 855-6397!
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