Waterspouts could form Friday and Saturday over the waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. At the same time, a Gale Warning is in effect for the open waters of Lake Michigan, which could see waves build as high as 12 feet amid high winds. The Gale Warning is forecast to end tonight, according to the National Weather Service team in Grand Rapids.
The waterspouts could be a fun thing to see – from a distance. Today and Saturday will be prime time for these over-the-water funnels to develop over Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, according to the Toronto-
based International Centre for Waterspout Research.
Why the waterspout outbreak now? The weather conditions are perfect, with colder air blowing over the comparatively warmer surface water of the Great Lakes.
MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa has explained the set-up for these water funnels, and why fall can be prime time to see them. “The perfect set-up for multiple waterspouts is a very cool blast of air from the northwest, a cold front and an upper-level low pressure system. Each of these ingredients has their own special part in forming a waterspout. A waterspout forms when cold air at 5,000 feet up and higher moves over the Great Lakes region. The large temperature difference between the air aloft and the … surface water creates an unstable situation.
“In weather, unstable means the air aloft is heavy and wants to fall to the ground. The warm air at the water surface is light and wants to be higher in the atmosphere. The two air masses get on the move, going lower with the cold aloft and higher with the warmth at the surface. As the air switches places, a rotation can also start.”
M Live
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