Tornadic cousins: Landspouts dance across the nation
Three landspouts were reported this week in three different states. What are landspouts, and how do they form?
As severe thunderstorms loomed in the area, a large, slow-moving landspout was spotted swirling near Forreston, Texas, on March 5.
No tornadoes touched down on Tuesday, March 5, when severe weather affected several areas of the United States, but there were landspouts reported in three different states: Oregon, Ohio and Texas. Sometimes called "landspout tornadoes," these cousins to tornadoes are formed differently.
Unlike tornadoes spawned by rotating thunderstorms, landspouts start as a column of spinning air near the ground and are not connected to the base of a severe, rotating thunderstorm. They can appear to be disconnected from clouds completely, or they can dangle from fair-weather clouds. Landspouts are usually weak and short-lived, although stronger landspouts can produce damage similar to tornadoes, up to EF3 strength, as one Ohio homeowner found out this week.
National Weather Service storm spotter reports for March 5, 2024. All three tornado reports were landspouts.
The Ohio Landspout
The National Weather Service's (NWS) Northern Indiana office confirmed that a landspout touched down between Ottawa and Leipsic, Ohio, on March 5, 2024, as an EF0-strength tornado. Photos of the twister show that it was connected to a cloud, but there were no supercell thunderstorms in the area and the NWS said the storm "developed in a minimally favorable environment for landspouts."
Damage to a home in Ohio from an EF0 landspout tornado on March 5, 2024. (Storyful/Linda Berry)
Although the landspout was on the ground for only about a minute with 70-mph winds, it hit one house directly, causing significant damage. Linda Berry, the homeowner’s sister, told Storyful that the house was just built a year ago.
The Oregon Landspout
Across the country in Oregon, Tonya Brewer was driving down Highway 11 between Athena and Milton Freewater when she saw storm clouds then a funnel extending to the ground. She pulled over to snap a photo and sent it to local TV station KATU.
Landspouts near Milton Freewater, Oregon, on March 5, 2024. (Tonya Brewer)
The NWS in Pendleton, Oregon, confirmed the event was a landspout. In the photo, the vortex appears to be connected to a cloud, but no thunderstorms were present. In fact, it was a chilly day with temperatures in the 30s F, a wintry atmosphere where a thunderstorm wouldn't form. A second landspout appears in the background. The twisters appear to be sucking up dust or moisture from a field. No damage was reported.
The Texas Landspout
A third landspout was also documented Tuesday in Forreston, Texas. Randi Stanfield, who took the video of the slow-moving, large landspout, told Storyful it was "incredible" to witness. Unlike the Ohio landspout, you can see from the video that the vortex appears to be disconnected from the cloud. A second video, which showed the swirling base of the landspout churning up dirt in a field, was posted to Facebook. The NWS in Fort Worth said the landspout remained over rural areas.
A landspout in Texas on March 5, 2024. (Storyful/Randi Stanfield)
