Funnel-producing convection can be in the form of a supercell, any thunderstorm, even a volcanic cloud, wildfire plume, shower, towering cumulus, or small cumulus. Any convective cloud or plume that stretches vorticity enough can spawn a funnel, if the pressure, temperature and humidity are right for the tube of air to condense cloud droplets (or in the case of fires and volcanoes, flame, smoke and/or ash as well). In this case, a small chunk of ragged cumulus (fractocumulus) managed the feat, just before sunset as experienced from that cloud’s level in the atmosphere. Such funnels occur well above ground and are harmless. The whiter cloud in the background is the back edge of much higher-level anvil from a thunderstorm complex that had dropped severe hail at this location before departing.
3 SSE Yuma CO (21 Jun 10) Looking up
40.0833, -102.701Fractocumulus with Funnel Cloud
Funnel-producing convection can be in the form of a supercell, any thunderstorm, even a volcanic cloud, wildfire plume, shower, towering cumulus, or small cumulus. Any convective cloud or plume that stretches vorticity enough can spawn a funnel, if the pressure, temperature and humidity are right for the tube of air to condense cloud droplets (or in the case of fires and volcanoes, flame, smoke and/or ash as well). In this case, a small chunk of ragged cumulus (fractocumulus) managed the feat, just before sunset as experienced from that cloud’s level in the atmosphere. Such funnels occur well above ground and are harmless. The whiter cloud in the background is the back edge of much higher-level anvil from a thunderstorm complex that had dropped severe hail at this location before departing.
3 SSE Yuma CO (21 Jun 10) Looking up
40.0833, -102.701