Watch a Waterspout Stretch from the Clouds to Lake Michigan Near Leland
A well-defined waterspout was captured on video yesterday (June 22) over the waters of Lake Michigan offshore of Leland, Michigan near the Leelenau Peninsula and the Manitou Islands.
The video was shared by Northern Michigan meteorologist and TV personality Joe Charlevoix who describes what you're seeing:
An unseasonably cool airmass crossing over the warmer waters of Lake Michigan (something we see much more often in the fall) led to a couple of waterspouts off of the Leelanau Peninsula near the Manitou Passage.
Check out the video.
It's interesting to note how the funnel can be seen all the way to the water. It doesn't peter out partway down from the clouds.
sbdTours, which provides nature and biking tours around the Sleeping Bear Dunes region shared a photo from a bike renter who spotted a spout near Glen Haven.
Another video, shared to the Weather Channel on Facebook shows a waterspout over South Manitou Island.
As Joe Charlevoix noted waterspouts are generally an autumnal occurrence, as evidenced by the October 2020 outbreak which saw 240 spouts form in a single storm system.
An early summer storm in the region also brought about choppy surf in the Straits of Mackinac leading to a viral video of a Mackinac Island ferry navigating some 10-14 foot waves and giving riders on deck a rollercoaster experience.
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