Image Credit: TWITTER/InvLil
November 07, 2021 - 10:01 AM
An unusual weather event reported near Vancouver’s airport caused Environment Canada to issue a warning yesterday.
Videos on social media show the large water spout directly near YVR at around 5 p.m., Nov. 7.
Meteorologist Bobby Sekhon, with Environment Canada, said the large water spout was spotted in the Straight of Georgia.
“To see one this big fairly close to YVR, that was something we don’t see very often. Water spouts are often transitory, they form and dissipate all within a minute sometimes, well less than an hour… in this case we did see it move along very quick and dissipate within a half hour or so,” he said.
A tornado watch was issued yesterday for West Vancouver and the Howe Sound areas because of the water spout and a funnel cloud was reported over UBC. It wasn’t certain if a tornado touched down at UBC, but it’s possible, Sekhon said.
In the Lower Mainland it’s quite rare to see tornados or funnel clouds, he said.
In the Okanagan, water spouts are sometimes spotted on Okanagan and Shuswap Lakes, Sekhon said.
Water spouts are spotted especially in the fall with warm lake waters and if there’s a cold air mass coming through, it can create an unstable environment in the lower part of the atmosphere.
“In terms of intensity, that really depends on the weather system itself… usually they’re fairly weak and last 10 to 15 minutes but certainly any time you see a water spout, or funnel cloud, or especially a tornado it could be a damaging and life threatening event,” Sekhon said.
READ MORE: Funnel-like clouds appear on Okanagan Lake
The difference between a water spout and tornado is a water spout forms over water, he said.
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