Eric Chaney
Published: May 31,2016
A
towering landspout tornado hit Colorado Monday afternoon near the small
town of Peetz, before crossing the border into Nebraska and passing by
the town of Sidney.
"A landspout tornado differs from most
tornadoes in that it is not associated with the main rotation in the
thunderstorm," said weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. "They most
often occur in drier areas with a lot of low-level instability."
Though
typically smaller and weaker than most tornadoes, they can still
produce major damage if they run into a highly-populated area, said
Donegan. In this case, the tornado struck an area with a very low
population with not much infrastructure around, but the National Weather
Service did report some damage to a farm near Peetz.
According to
the National Weather Service, there were three landspout tornadoes
reported in that area. The largest was impressive, tearing up dirt at
its base and towering high into the clouds. Numerous people stepped out
to capture the twister in still photos and video.
Landspouts occur
most often on the High Plains, the NWS said and are almost always
manifested as a narrow, rope-like funnel of condensation. They are
difficult to forecast and detect using radar because the rotation is
usually small and short-lived.
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