National Weather Service confirms waterspout/tornado in Whatcom County Monday evening
The National Weather Service in Seattle has confirmed that a waterspout formed over Whatcom County’s Lake Samish, displacing two small boats and some patio furniture when it came ashore.
The waterspout formed between 6:30 and 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, according to a NWS tweet on the event.
The weather service said it investigated reports of a waterspout/tornado and reviewed video evidence to confirm the event.
“The radar at the time indicated a frontal boundary approaching the area with little to no signal of significant rotation,” the National Weather Service reported. “Based on the small size of the waterspout/tornado from the video evidence, it is unlikely that Doppler radar would detect the event was occurring or about to occur.”
For that reason, no warning was in effect at the time, according to the release, adding that public reports of the waterspout did not arrive until after the event was over.
“Small, brief and weak tornadoes are very difficult to detect using radar, whereas large and destructive tornadoes are much easier to detect and issue warnings in advance,” the weather service reported.
Anyone with additional information regarding this event was encouraged to reach out to the National Weather Service in Seattle at nws.seattle@noaa.gov or 206-526-6095.
