Latest news with #landspout
CBS News
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
What is a landspout and how did one tear through a Colorado business park?
When we normally think of a tornado, most people go to Twister or picture the Wizard of Oz. They think of the powerful storms spinning down from massive, rotating thunderstorms, triggering tornado warnings, and potentially causing major damage. However, not all tornadoes form the same way, and with recent storms across Colorado, we have seen those in the form of landspouts. A landspout tornado is a less intense tornado. It looks like a skinny rope extending from a cloud to the ground. It can spin quickly and may even pick up dust or debris, but it's usually weaker and shorter-lived than the classic tornadoes we see in severe weather outbreaks. Landspouts typically form on hot, dry days when there's instability and thunderstorms overhead, but the landspouts lack the rotating core of a mesocyclone that drives more dangerous tornadoes. Low pressure at the surface forms rising air that rushes in, filling the low and increasing the circulation, and rising. As a thunderstorm develops overhead, the updraft stretches the landspout up to the cloud. That stretching will tighten the rotation and create the landspout tornado. The storm picks up dust and debris, much like a tornado. Eventually, the landspout picks up cooler air, which kills the circulation. The Franktown landspout on Monday caused damage and came to the area without much warning, as many landspouts do. While the classic tornado forms from mesocyclones, and strong rotations that are easy to detect on radar, landspouts form from non-rotating, ordinary thunderstorms, usually along an outflow or dryline. They happen quickly, near the surface, and don't often present warning signatures on radar. Even though a landspout is usually weaker, it is still considered a tornado and should still be treated as such if you see a funnel forming in your area.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Landspout damages business buildings, tears roof in Franktown, Colorado: "I just feel the building shake"
A fast-moving landspout tore through a Colorado community Monday afternoon, ripping building roofs in its path. "All of a sudden, I just feel the building shake," said Shany Muro. Muro was one of several employees working inside the Wags and Walks Colorado Pet Ranch in Franktown when the landspout damaged neighboring buildings. "I thought it was just thunder, and my coworker [told] me she saw a tornado heading towards us, and now it looks the way it looks," she said. Video shared by an onlooker shows a roof flying across the air. Part of the roof landed directly on top of the pet ranch. "(I) check the camera and I see a roof come over into our yard," said Ricky Martinez, owner of Wags and Walks. Bob Nicolls, who owns Monarch Investments, says it was the roof on the property he is renting that blew off. "Employees were working inside the building. No one was hurt," Nicolls said. Officials with the Douglas County Sheriff's office say seven businesses across three buildings were impacted by the landspout. Much of the damage was on the exterior of the properties, but there were some vehicles that were also damaged by the debris. "It did seem like it came out of nowhere with no warning at all," said Deborah Takahara, Public Information Officer for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. "(I was) shaken up for sure, it's definitely scary," Martinez said. "It's like (a) nightmare fuel kind of thing happening here." Martinez and his staff say it could've been a much scarier outcome. "Right before it happened, I was out in the yard, where a lot of debris had fallen," said Muro. "I was out there with some little pugs. If I hadn't gone inside when I did, we all would have been crushed, so that's very nerve-wracking." While there's still damage to these structures that needs to be assessed, Martinez says they are making sure each pet has a place to go. "We're trying to see if owners that have emergency contacts can come get their dogs. If they can't, we have a location we're going to move them to temporarily until we can see what's going on here," said Martinez.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Landspout strikes Franktown, Colorado
Several businesses were damaged in Franktown, Colorado, on Monday, July 14, 2025 after a landspout formed. Some of those businesses sustained roof damage, with at least one roof blown entirely off of the building. Roof damage on building in Franktown Several businesses were damaged in Franktown, Colorado, on Monday, July 14, 2025, after a landspout formed. Emergency services in Franktown following landspout Several businesses were damaged in Franktown, Colorado, on Monday, July 14, 2025, after a landspout formed. Flag pole and building damaged by Franktown landspout Several businesses were damaged in Franktown, Colorado, on Monday, July 14, 2025, after a landspout formed. Emergency services in Franktown following landspout Several businesses were damaged in Franktown, Colorado, on Monday, July 14, 2025, after a landspout formed. Landspout and tornado difference
CBS News
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Fast-moving landspout southeast of Denver metro area damages 7 businesses' roofs, Franktown Fire Department says
A "fast-moving" landspout that formed southeast of the Denver metro area damaged at least seven businesses Monday afternoon. No one has been reported injured, but photos from the area show significant damage to at least some of those businesses' roofs. The Franktown Fire Department said around 3 p.m. that the landspout formed near the intersection of Highways 83 and 86. Both the fire department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office characterized the landspout as "fast-moving," and the sheriff's office is asking people to avoid the area while crews work to assess the damage, help clean up, and keep people in the area safe. The National Weather Service in Boulder issued an alert about the weather around 2:40 p.m., saying hail was also possible. That alert was extended to the towns of Bennett and Strasburg soon after. A landspout is similar to a tornado, but forms from the ground up, instead of from the sky down to the ground. Franktown is about 35 miles southeast of Denver.
CTV News
10-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Funnel cloud spotted over Mitchell, Ont. on Thursday
People in Mitchell, Ont. may have been surprised to see a funnel cloud in the sky on Thursday afternoon. Dr. David Sills, the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University, said it happened as a system moved across the community. 'Sometimes a weak vortex can be produced as a cloud is rapidly growing,' he told CTV News. 'If the resulting storm is strong enough, that vortex can reach tornadic strength, but any resulting damage would be highly localized and usually rate EF0 or EF1. These are known as 'landspout' tornadoes.' The funnel cloud above Mitchell, however, resulted from a rain shower and not a thunderstorm. 'The vortex was likely far too weak at ground level to be considered even an EF0 tornado,' Sills said, adding that there was no damage reported. Even though it was more of a curiosity than a concern, the funnel cloud will be added to a database compiled by the Northern Tornadoes Project. Sills said they keep track of funnel cloud sightings over land.
