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A funnel cloud was spotted over Kleefeld late Wednesday afternoon, surprising residents who weren’t expecting any severe weather.
Lorissa Spence and her children noticed the formation around 5:30 p.m. while at their home on the north side of Kleefeld. Spence, who describes her family as avid storm watchers, said her daughter was the first to spot something strange in the sky.
“We looked out the window and—yeah—it was very, very odd,” Spence said. “I zoomed in with my phone and sure enough, it was rotating.”
While the funnel cloud didn’t appear to touch down, it lingered for several minutes and seemed to strengthen before eventually fading. Spence’s husband also saw the formation while driving home from Steinbach.
What made the experience especially unusual, she said, was the timing and weather conditions. “It was very sideways and obviously the weather didn’t get that warm today—maybe 16°—so we weren’t weather-watching at all.”
At the time, the temperature in the area was 15°C with 69 per cent humidity, according to Environment Canada.
Spence said there was a brief downpour while they were filming the cloud, but no lightning or thunder. “It wasn’t even really at the storm front—it was on the tail end of the clouds,” she noted.
Despite the surprise, Spence said it was an exciting moment for their family. “We just love storm watching, so it was a fun part of our afternoon.”