Monday maelstrom
A waterspout spotted in Lake Superior on Monday evening. (Photos courtesy of Ashleigh Morr)
A waterspout spotted in Lake Superior on Monday evening. (Photos courtesy of Ashleigh Morr)
Trending
MARQUETTE -- Monday was marked by two sudden and intense thunderstorms in Marquette.
One of these storms, which occurred during the late morning, led to a lightning strike which hit the Meijer store in Marquette Township, causing a fire and prompting a store-wide evacuation.
The fire was quickly put out by the Marquette Township Fire Department and the store re-opened.
Later in the day, around 5:30, a second round of a storms came through and the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning, urging residents to seek shelter.
According to Lily Chapman from the National Weather Service Marquette Post, the NWS was still waiting to make confirmation on whether or not a tornado occurred as of Tuesday afternoon.
There was, however, a confirmed sighting of a waterspout near Shot Point that appeared to make landfall.
"There's really practically speaking very little (difference between a water spout and a tornado)," said Chapman. "A water spout is a rotating thunderstorm over the water and once it makes landfall it's a tornado. So a water spout is just a tornado over the water."
The NWS is still determining the life cycle of the water spout. Radar shows rotation strengthening as it reaches Shot Point around 6:30 and then a few minutes later near Sand River, radar shows weakened but still present rotation.
In addition to the water spout, Monday evening's storm produced large hail. The largest recorded, according to Chapman, was 3-inch hail near Watson.
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.