Funnel cloud spotted in Central Okanagan not a rare occurrence

Something weird was spotted in the sky over the weekend in the Central Okanagan, but before you freak out, it wasn’t a tornado.

According to meteorologist Lisa Coldwells, a funnel cloud formed in the sky near Lake Country as a result of cool and showery conditions on Sunday. But it's not uncommon for these to form in the B.C. Interior.

@weathernetwork what is this? In Lake country BC pic.twitter.com/d1VIxKFYLv

— Eric Schneider (@schneidz16) July 10, 2016

“What we needed was a cold low situation which is what happened. A cold low drops out of the Gulf of Alaska and generally crosses the province. It then generates weak convections.”

If this perfect weather occurs, the funnel clouds will drop out of the base of the system. According to Coldwells, it is extremely rare for the funnels to touch down in the province.

“They are much more frequent in the spring because that is when it is cooler, you see reports of them periodically though interior. It might happen a couple times through the year.”

@weathernetwork this just happened 20mins ago NW of Kelowna. pic.twitter.com/QVicx0AzRi

— Jamie Weiss (@mxkerl) July 10, 2016

These types of cold air funnel clouds are very weak and do not have much strength. Coldwells said if the funnel were to touch down and become a tornado it would likely flatten a small shed or knock over some weak trees.

There have not been previous reports of cold air funnel clouds touching down in the Central Okanagan, but there have been reports on the Prairies.

During Coldwells career, she has only heard of one true tornado reported in the B.C. Interior. In 1998, a tornado was recorded in Cranbrook. It didn’t last very long, but it did touch the ground and there was some damage.