Trigger Happy

We knew severe weather was headed our way.  The morning was sunny, but it started clouding up around 10:00.  Then at 11 a.m., the storm suddenly arrived with lots of rain and a strong wind.

Almost simultaneously the tornado siren sounded.

I turned on WCIA to see what they were reporting.  At one point they said there was no tornado.  Instead, maybe a "gustnado" was the reason for the sirens to go off.  They went on to explain that the conditions could lead to a tornado.

Hmm-- I thought that was the purpose of a tornado watch .... an alert that a tornado could develop.

This morning. Near Ivesdale, south of our town.

WCIA evening news explained the reason for the tornado siren:  Apparently a police officer saw something that resembled a tornado on the west side of town.  He "demanded" that emergency services turn on the sirens.  The news report went on to say that "it is unclear whether he is a trained storm spotter."  That sounds like a politically correct way of saying he is not.

Gustnado - A small whirlwind that forms as an eddy in the leading edge of a thunderstorm. Does not connect with cloud-based rotation and is not a tornado.