What is it called?

[Drew.Gardonia]

When I was chasing with Steve Worthington last Friday, we saw a funnel forming and was kicking up a lot of dust in a nearby field, unfortunately it fizzed out and couldn't get going.

About 2 minutes prior to that I happened to be looking up at the sky right after we parked on the side of the road, and I saw a long funnel shaped looking cloud that was rotating (directly above us) but it wasn't vertical, instead it was horizontal and it was just churning away but it never had any vertical movement.

just wondering if there is a weather term for that?

 

[Chris Allington]

When I was chasing with Steve Worthington last Friday, we saw a funnel forming and was kicking up a lot of dust in a nearby field, unfortunately it fizzed out and couldn't get going.

About 2 minutes prior to that I happened to be looking up at the sky right after we parked on the side of the road, and I saw a long funnel shaped looking cloud that was rotating (directly above us) but it wasn't vertical, instead it was horizontal and it was just churning away but it never had any vertical movement.

just wondering if there is a weather term for that?

Most people would probably call it a shear funnel... as it seems to be more a product of the inflow/outflow interface then sustained, organized rotation.

 

[Danny Neal]

I believe it could have been a high based shear funnel, but without pictures or video it is hard to know for sure.

A particular spotter (Kelly ?) kept calling in on the radio and claiming to have seen funnels lowering almost to the ground, and that he could hear the tornado sirens from 235th Street and something or other.

Steve and I were in the same vicinity watching the same exact wall cloud as this assmunch, and neither of us could see any funnels lowering down to the ground, and we sure as hell couldn't hear any sirens from our location. Not to say that the sirens weren't going off, but we never heard a damn siren all day long. Most we saw was very light rotation, and some wisps of clouds lowering and raising, but nothing organized like a funnel.

As we moved east and came into the town of Goddard, this same spotter came on the radio again, claiming to see funnels lowering almost to the ground, and that the sirens were going off in Goddard. We were driving through the town and there wasn't a single siren going off.

We were listening to 101.3, and this spotter was full of **** on about 3/4 of the **** he called in.

Steve and I were both like what the **** is he looking at?

101.3 should take reports from a more experience and qualified spotter, because this dip**** didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

I quote this because I am confused..... You made a huge thing about this "spotter" on crack for seeing funnels that weren't there and reporting them and if I am reading this correctly you DID say there were none whatsoever..... but now you create a thread saying you DID see one...... Seems pretty hypocritical

 

[Skip Talbot]

we saw a funnel forming and was kicking up a lot of dust in a nearby field

A funnel that is kicking up dust is a tornado. Did you mean you saw a funnel, while straight line winds associated with the storm were kicking up dust?

I saw a long funnel shaped looking cloud that was rotating (directly above us) but it wasn't vertical, instead it was horizontal and it was just churning away but it never had any vertical movement.

just wondering if there is a weather term for that?

A funnel is a funnel. Its orientation relative to the ground does not redefine what it is. Check out the tornado in your avatar, the top part of the condensation funnel is nearly parallel with the ground. Judging from the photos in the link you have posted in your signature, it appears to me that a shelf cloud went overhead. If that shelf cloud had horizontal rotation I would call that a roll cloud.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I believe it could have been a high based shear funnel, but without pictures or video it is hard to know for sure.

I quote this because I am confused..... You made a huge thing about this "spotter" on crack for seeing funnels that weren't there and reporting them and if I am reading this correctly you DID say there were none whatsoever..... but now you create a thread saying you DID see one...... Seems pretty hypocritical

Ohh Ohh!!!

Yeah, actually I'm pretty confused now.

 

[Danny Neal]

Ohh Ohh!!!

Yeah, actually I'm pretty confused now.

I'm not sayin'....I'm just sayin'

 

[Jason Boggs]

I'm not sayin'....I'm just sayin'

Oh, I agree. I really am still confused in what he saw, or thinks he saw.

 

[Mike Deep]

That sounds kind of like a little feature I saw on a storm July 9th, 2007 in CNY. I was out minding my own business when the storm suddenly arrived and sent me for cover. I remembered to bring a portable weather radio with me that day since the forecast called for stormy weather and I was going to be outside all day. The storm was severe warned at the time with hail reported.

All I had with me was a lousy pocket camera. I took this on the run and used ENHANCE™ so mind the quality:

It looks like a small funnel but it curves back up into the clouds. What was this?

There was also this ominous looking thing that went overhead shortly before I snapped the previous picture:

But I don't feel qualified to attempt to identify either of these features.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

I believe it could have been a high based shear funnel, but without pictures or video it is hard to know for sure.

I quote this because I am confused..... You made a huge thing about this "spotter" on crack for seeing funnels that weren't there and reporting them and if I am reading this correctly you DID say there were none whatsoever..... but now you create a thread saying you DID see one...... Seems pretty hypocritical

there's a difference between a funnel "forming" and an actual funnel.

I'm still kinda new at all this, but Steve Worthing could give a better explanation.

i know there's term for it, cause my dad has said it once, but I just can't recall it.

here's the pic...almost dead center but slightly to the right (notice the telltale swirl of the horizontal rotation). It was rotating very quickly, but it was horizontal. (maybe it was a funnel after all and I'm the one that doesn't know **** from applebutter? )

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

ah ha! I found the term I was looking for.
<dl><dt>Roll Cloud - A low, horizontal tube-shaped arcus cloud associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or sometimes with a cold front). Roll clouds are relatively rare; they are completely detached from the thunderstorm base or other cloud features, thus differentiating them from the more familiar shelf clouds. Roll clouds usually appear to be "rolling" about a horizontal axis, but should not be confused with funnel clouds.</dt></dl>http://www.nws.noaa.gov/glossary/index.php?letter=r

the cloud in the above pic wasn't in the direct vicinty of a wall cloud, and wasn't on the southwestern edge of the storm, but I don't think it was a funnel.


EDIT: Skip I just saw that term at the end of your post after I nearly exhausted myself on Google searching for that term lol.


Danny - this is all we saw in the field when I said the funnel was forming...it was trying real hard, but couldn't get it together.

 

[Chad Ringley]

ah ha! I found the term I was looking for.

<DL><DT>Roll Cloud - A low, horizontal tube-shaped arcus cloud associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or sometimes with a cold front). Roll clouds are relatively rare; they are completely detached from the thunderstorm base or other cloud features, thus differentiating them from the more familiar shelf clouds. Roll clouds usually appear to be "rolling" about a horizontal axis, but should not be confused with funnel clouds.</DT></DL>http://www.nws.noaa.gov/glossary/index.php?letter=r

the cloud in the above pic wasn't in the direct vicinty of a wall cloud, and wasn't on the southwestern edge of the storm, but I don't think it was a funnel.


EDIT: Skip I just saw that term at the end of your post after I nearly exhausted myself on Google searching for that term lol.


Danny - this is all we saw in the field when I said the funnel was forming...it was trying real hard, but couldn't get it together.

So, you were looking at the outflow portion of the storm then (if you weren't near the updraft or the SW side). Then you saw a gustnado????

 

[Eric Flescher]

still wondering????? was it funnel looking from the side?

A few years ago, (1990's or 1980's) in the afternoon while attending classes near Mission Road in Shawnee Mission , KS I looked out the window and saw this "streaming tube". It could not have been a roll cloud as the as it was not rolling horizontally. It was in place streaming from north to south. It was truly amazing with the streaming "going a million miles an hour- very fast".

I heard later on there was a wallcloud near by.

I did not see reports about it in the newspaper or photos (gosh I wish I had a camera!).

Maybe I was seeing a "funnel from the side" ?

It was amazing , never forget but still wondering.
::

So, you were looking at the outflow portion of the storm then (if you weren't near the updraft or the SW side). Then you saw a gustnado????

 

[Skip Talbot]

Danny - this is all we saw in the field when I said the funnel was forming...it was trying real hard, but couldn't get it together.

Andrew can you circle in these pictures what the "developing funnel" is? I don't see anything in these pictures that would make me think funnel. Yes, you can get funnels on the leading edge of a gust front, and maybe there is one embedded somewhere in these pictures. However, all I see here is an outflow dominant storm, which is something I would not be expecting to produce a funnel. I'm not trying to give you a hard time here, I'm just trying to point you in the right direction of proper spotting technique.

 

[Skip Talbot]

A few years ago, (1990's or 1980's) in the afternoon while attending classes near Mission Road in Shawnee Mission , KS I looked out the window and saw this "streaming tube". It could not have been a roll cloud as the as it was not rolling horizontally. It was in place streaming from north to south. It was truly amazing with the streaming "going a million miles an hour- very fast".

These are some of the more intriguing horizontal features I have come upon and your story reminded me of them:

Classic roll cloud over Kearney last year.

Squid like tentacles streaming into the roll cloud.

If there is a horizontal funnel, this is it, jutting out of the left side of that wedge. Its probably an elevated and intense inflow jet into the tornadic circulation. I saw a similar and more well defined feature in a May 3, '99 video.

 

[Danny Neal]

Andrew can you circle in these pictures what the "developing funnel" is? I don't see anything in these pictures that would make me think funnel. Yes, you can get funnels on the leading edge of a gust front, and maybe there is one embedded somewhere in these pictures. However, all I see here is an outflow dominant storm, which is something I would not be expecting to produce a funnel. I'm not trying to give you a hard time here, I'm just trying to point you in the right direction of proper spotting technique.

I just found it odd he would call out someone else (who probably has been doing it a lot longer than he has) about different features when he can't even properly identify one. Now I am not bashing him (Andrew) or anything like that but more of a "make sure you know what you are talking about before throwing a huge stone" Call it a little rookie hazing, I just want you to be able to confidently report what you see. If you need to post on ST and ask what you saw, after making a thread blasting someone for what they think THEY saw...... you can see where I am going with this.

As Skip said, I don't see anything tornadic. I see a lot of low "scary looking" clouds along the edge of a probable gust front/outflow dominant storm. I am sure there was a lot of turbulence going on with the leading edge of this thing and a lot of rising scud. The blowing dust you saw was probably just outflow. Believe me when you see a funnel or a tornado.... you KNOW it lol.