Was that a funnel cloud in Fresno County? Weather service explains what happened
.jpg "A funnel cloud is seen near Sanger, California, on Thursday, May 4, 2023.")
A funnel cloud was spotted in the Sanger area Thursday morning that brought shock to many on social media.
Was that a thunderstorm-based funnel cloud? The National Weather Service in Hanford said no.
Instead, it was a cold funnel cloud.
What is a cold funnel cloud?
Meteorologist Carlos Molina of the National Weather Service explained that what residents saw was a “weak cell or a very weak thunderstorm that formed east of Fresno or near Sanger.
“It had enough rotation to produce a funnel cloud. It didn’t touch the ground, but it was just enough to actually create the occurrence of a funnel cloud or almost a tornado near the Sanger area.”
Molina said there are a few thunderstorms, as of 12:15 p.m., that may produce more funnel clouds.
The funnel cloud near Sanger was reported at 10:30 a.m.
There is a forecast of more showers and thunderstorms over the Fresno area.
“The upper low that was over the Pacific Ocean is moving across Central California (Thursday), so on radar, we can actually see the circulation of the upper low as it moves between Fresno and Visalia. It’s right over us. The clouds and storms that are moving through are actually, instead of moving from the west to east or from the north to the south, are actually moving up the Valley from the southeast over to the northwest and there’s a little bit of spin in them. They are very weak, but there’s enough spin to create some of those funnel clouds.”
The Fresno-area received some rain overnight: 0.25 inches.
Sunny weather will return to the area on Friday and through the weekend.
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This story was originally published May 4, 2023 at 1:17 PM.
