Did you hear the one about the weatherman out running errands when he sees a funnel cloud drop from the sky?
The funny thing is, there’s no punch line this time. It really happened.
My wife and I were running errands on the east side of the Portland metro area when I noticed a really black cloud to our south.
I said, “Wow, that looks like a funnel cloud,” but I thought it must be steam from a factory rising into the low clouds. That’s happened lots of times to give the appearance of being a funnel.
But shortly after seeing it–it completely vanished. That would be odd for steam to do that. So I figured it must be real and our car cruised down I-205 south from Highway 224, toward Oregon City. The exact location of the funnel was almost directly across I-205 from Latus Motors (the big Harley dealership on the east side). So it was on the east side of I-205, just south of the Gladstone exit.
My heart raced as I recorded this video. Look toward the middle of the screen to see what cool, unstable air can do. It appeared much closer to the naked eye and I could clearly see rotation. In this case, it does not appear this Oregon funnel cloud touched down–or else we’d be calling it a tornado. Terry Boyd, radio host over at AM 860 KPAM also saw the funnel and got caught in the downpour that came with it. What a crazy day!
Enjoyed reading about your description of the funnel cloud! The first time I officialy saw one was back in March 2004 in an area some miles SE of Vancouver, BC. However, looking at your photograph, makes me wonder if I’ve seen one or two long before that time.
How was your October, Bruce?
How was your November, Bruce?
Merry Christmas, Bruce! It’s unfortunate to see you’re not keeping up your blog. Hopefully, all is well? Happy New Year too!