This waterspout spun up near St. Ignace, Michigan on Tuesday, July 18. Photo provided by Brenda Horton.
The eastern Upper Peninsula and parts of northern Lower Michigan have been in an unsettled weather pattern today that is expected to continue as a Clipper system moves through the area.
The resulting waterspout over the Lake Huron side of the Straits made a very photogenic sight for those aboard the late morning ferries headed to and from Mackinac Island.
Brenda Horton, an island summer resident, was on board a Shepler's ferry leaving St. Ignace when she saw the waterspout.
"We were already away from the harbor, going toward Mackinac, when the captain called our attention to it," Horton said. "He said it had just dropped out of a front crossing the lake, and was several miles away. It looked very dramatic, but you could see it was a long way off."
People on board the ferry whipped out their phones to take pictures of the weather phenomenon, she said.
"It lasted a good five minutes, seeming to drift farther away. And suddenly, it was completely engulfed in rain and just disappeared."
The first waterspout report from Mackinac Island came into the National Weather Service about 11:45 a.m. today.
Minutes before that, the National Weather Service in Gaylord had issued a special marine warning for the open waters near Mackinac and neighboring Bois Blanc Island. A thunderstorm producing waterspouts had been reported in the area. These whirling funnels of air and water mist can be just as dangerous as tornadoes that occur over land. Over the water, they can overturn boats and create dangerous boating conditions.
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