Landspouts, Not Tornadoes, Touch Down

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North Platte, Neb.
Posted: 10:22 AM Jul 15, 2008
Last Updated: 10:22 AM Jul 15, 2008
Reporter: Associated Press
Email Address: desk@kolnkgin.com

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The National Weather Service said two tornadoes reported in southwest Nebraska were actually landspouts.

Forecaster Kenny Roberg said Tuesday the service issued a tornado warning Monday afternoon when a tornado was reported near Grant, 15 miles south of Big Springs, in Perkins County.

Roberg said a trained spotter reported a second tornado on the ground in Keith County near Ogallala.

Roberg said the unusual funnels fall into the same category as tornadoes. They also have updrafts, but landspouts are relatively weak, have less rotation and are not associated with thunderstorms.

The weather service said both landspouts lasted for about 15 minutes.

No damage or injuries have been reported.

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Posted by: Charles Location: Seward, NE on Jul 19, 2008 at 02:47 AM
Wikipedia says: Known officially as "dust-tube tornadoes" by the National Weather Service, they form during the growth stage of convective clouds by the ingestion and tightening of boundary layer vorticity by the cumuliform tower's updraft. Landspouts most often occur in drier areas with high-based storms and considerable low-level instability. They generally are smaller and weaker than supercellular tornadoes, though many persist in excess of 15 minutes and some have produced F3 damage. They bear an appearance and generative mechanism highly similar to that of waterspouts, usually taking the form of a translucent and highly laminar helical tube. Like waterspouts, they are also technically considered tornadoes since they are defined by an intensely rotating column of air in contact with both the surface and a cumuliform cloud. Not all landspouts are visible, and many are first sighted as debris swirling at the surface before eventually filling in with condensation and dust.

Posted by: r. john Location: seward on Jul 16, 2008 at 06:18 PM
guess i've never heard of landspouts before...i've heard of "cold air funnels" brfore though...what's the difference?

Posted by: Don on Jul 15, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Don't these cause damage like an f-0 tornado. We still should take cover just like a major tornado it can knock out a window which can cut and injure somebody just as bad as a big tornado with flying debris.

Posted by: breanna Location: lincoln on Jul 15, 2008 at 10:52 AM
i hate things like that espicaly tornadoes i almost had to go to the hospital because i almost hipervenilated in the first tornado siren!

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