Waterspouts visible on the Great Lakes

 

Many communities across the Great Lakes lie in an environment known to produce the marine phenomenon waterspouts.

The warm waters of the Great Lakes can be a good environment for this mesmerizing and destructive weather event. While waterspouts are usually weak and non-destructive, they can sometimes be catastrophic, as observed in the small town of Goderich, Ont several years ago. 

 Waterspouts are a column of cloud-filled wind rotating over a body of water. There are two different types of waterspouts, known as Fair Weather and Tornadic waterspouts. 

 National Geographic defines fair weather waterspouts as the more common of the two types, and they are rarely dangerous. Fair weather waterspouts are associated with a very cold air mass moving over the warm lake waters. Tornadic waterspouts start as tornadoes which are associated with a severe thunderstorm and travel into the water, or vice versa.  

 A classic example of a tornadic waterspout was observed in Goderich, Ont. on Aug. 21, 2011. An F3 rated tornado touched down and traveled about 20 km and lasted 15 minutes. The tornado touched down on Lake Huron and moved up the lake bank in a south easterly direction through the town.  

Richard Pollman, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac said the tornado in Goderich was not a typical waterspout.  

“That was a different formation process than your traditional waterspout. What happened in Goderich back in 2011 was a classic tornadic-producing thunderstorm,” said Pollman “You basically had a tornado form over water like a tornado would form over land and its strengthening process had nothing to do with the Great Lakes.” 

 Marine insight reports that the first waterspout ever to be recorded was in 1456, when a whirlwind of water was spotted over the ocean in Ancona, Italy. 

 These types of tornadoes can be considered a marine hazard. Accu Weather meteorologist Brett Rossio has some advice for boaters if they encounter one of these twisters on the water.  

 “Do not go near it they can be very dangerous, and they may even capsize your boat,” said Rossio.  

On August 16 this year, an outbreak of waterspouts occurred in the Great Lakes region. There was a total of 84 waterspouts recorded in early August. On August 5 there were 41 waterspouts and or funnels reported on Lake Erie alone.  

 Just over a month later there were 232 waterspouts reported across the Great Lakes over a span of seven days. Every Great Lake reported waterspouts with a majority being on Lake Erie. According to the ICWR there were multiple waterspouts at the same time. This outbreak shattered the record for most waterspouts, which was set just a month earlier.  

To get the latest marine alerts regarding waterspouts, visit the Environment Canada website for more info.