At Kontakt 24 we received a photo of a condensation funnel that could be seen on Saturday near Nowy Dwór Gdański (Pomeranian Voivodeship). tvnmeteo.pl forecaster Artur Chrzanowski confirmed that there were favorable conditions for the occurrence of tornadoes on Saturday.
Condensation funnels and tornadoes on our continent are phenomena typical of warm seasons. They most often appear in summer and, unfortunately, we are also seeing them more and more often in our country. This year, tornadoes or their seeds appeared, among others, in: Nowy Targ (Lesser Poland Voivodeship), w Wierzawice (Podkarpackie Voivodeship), the town of Żórawina (Lower Silesian Voivodeship) or w Garwolin County (Masovian Voivodeship).
Pomeranian Voivodeship. While driving, they noticed a condensation funnel
It would seem that the end of October no longer offers such dynamic and dangerous conditions for a tornado to form. However, the photographs sent by Reporter 24 with the nickname MarcinJ leave no doubts – on Saturday, a condensation funnel, i.e. the beginning of a tornado, could be seen near Nowy Dwór Gdański.
– My wife and I were returning from Gdańsk to Olsztyn. I was driving the car, my wife took photos. We observed the funnel for about five minutes. We noticed that it didn’t touch the ground, it was floating. I once had the opportunity to see something like this on the Baltic Sea, but not on land yet – the man reported. – I didn’t feel scared. However, topics related to climate change are close to my heart. I am afraid that such phenomena may indicate changes taking place – said the Internet user.
How is a tornado formed?
As tvnmeteo.pl forecaster Artur Chrzanowski explained, Gdańsk Pomerania was in the zone of an atmospheric front on Saturday.
– When two masses with thermal contrast clash on a warm front, cumulonimbus clouds embedded in the structure of frontal clouds may be formed. In favorable micro-conditions, they may cause the appearance of a condensation funnel – said the forecaster.
A condensation funnel forms when there are strong updrafts in the cloud. Usually, at a certain height, wind shear occurs and the current begins to bend. At some point it starts spinning and water vapor begins to condense in it. If the updrafts in the cloud are strongly developed and the rotating column touches the ground, a tornado may form.
Main photo source: MarcinJ/Contact 24