There were dozens of waterspouts reported this October in the Great Lakes. What causes them, and why do they show up this time of year? Are they as dangerous as a tornado?
While there was no severe weather associated with Thursday's rain system, a visual often associated with severe weather was spotted on a Northern Minnesota lake.
Waterspouts are generally a warm-season phenomenon, appearing over large bodies of water like Lake Superior. Saturday afternoon (December 7), multiple cold air waterspouts were spotted near Knife River, north of Duluth on the Minnesota North Shore.
People in the Twin Ports see a lot of crazy weather conditions through the seasons. Usually waterspouts aren't one of those things. With today's occurrence of a waterspout near Park Point on Lake Superior, social media is abuzz with questions like "What is a waterspout?" or "Why do waterspouts occur?" Here's a quick guide into those questions and more.
At about 11 AM today, the National Weather Service reported a water spout 2 miles off park point. A waterspout is a tornado that appears over water, and is generally not as strong as tornadoes over land.