A funnel-like cloud that passed over the Greater Cincinnati area Thursday afternoon had locals and meteorologists puzzled.
Reports
of possible tornadoes came in to the National Weather Service’s
Wilmington office and the Butler County Sheriff’s office Thursday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Experts don't exactly know what kind of cloud it was, but they know for sure what it was not: a tornado.
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Weather around the Cincinnati
area midday Thursday was overcast with temperatures in the lower 70s.
Winds were out of the south and southeast at about 5 to 10 mph, said
weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam. Such weather conditions do not
provide the setup for tornadoes to develop.
Severe weather expert Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel was baffled as well.
"Interesting,
but I don't know," said Forbes. "Normally, I'd say funnel cloud on a
boundary, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."
Initially,
NWS believed the clouds were virga, or rain that evaporates before
hitting the ground. They ruled that out after inspecting the photos.
They also ruled out the possibility of a scud cloud, a low-hanging cloud
often associated with the updraft from a thunderstorm.
NWS tweeted that the cloud was no tornado threat.
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