Natural Phenomena
Funnel Cloud
Atmospheric Optics
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A rotating, cone-shaped extension of cloud descending from a thunderstorm's base that has not yet reached the ground or a water surface; once it does, it is reclassified as a tornado or waterspout. A funnel cloud forms through the same low-pressure, rotating updraft dynamics as a tornado, made visible by condensation as air spirals inward and rises, and its presence signals conditions capable of producing a full tornado at any moment.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
A tornado is defined as a funnel cloud, or its associated ground-level circulation, that makes contact with the earth's surface; the two describe the same rotating column at different stages of one event.
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