Did you see the funnel cloud over Santa Paula? Here's what we know
Yes, a funnel cloud formed near Santa Paula Tuesday afternoon.
Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, confirmed that images of the twisty cloud were indeed of the funnel variety.
"They're cool to look at, but thankfully, they had no impact to services," he said Wednesday.
A major storm that started Sunday night moved through the region over several days, dumping inches of rain and spawning flooding and mudslides. It also formed at least one funnel.
Wofford, who was not working when the cloud formed, said they're not too uncommon in Ventura County.
Funnel clouds that reach the ground become tornadoes. But they need a great deal of energy to reach the surface, he said, and the right conditions — storm energy, rotation and wind among them. Otherwise they dissipate, which is what happened to the formation spotted over Santa Paula.
"Usually, every year at some point we'll see funnel clouds," Wofford said. "It's much more rare to see them get to the ground."
He noted the weather service issued a tornado warning in December when a major storm swept through Southern California and stalled out over Port Hueneme and Oxnard. Since the system moved through at night, any funnel clouds that may have formed were probably not visible.
Ventura-based photographer Brallan Perez Favela captured images and video of Tuesday's phenomenon.
"I have never seen a funnel cloud, period," he said. "It was pretty exciting to be able to capture it."
Favela volunteers as a photographer for the Ventura County Fire Department. He was headed to a car crash Tuesday afternoon but quickly learned the call had been canceled. On his way back, a friend called to tell him about the funnel cloud.
Back in Ventura near Wells Road, he took out his drone around 4 p.m. and aimed it toward Santa Paula. It took a few seconds to zero in on the unusual cloud. But at last, there it was.
During two minutes of Favela's drone video, the cloud grows and shrinks. At times, the tail grows longer or the funnel top widens.
"It was kind of fluctuating," Favela said. "It was doing a lot of things."
Stacie N. Galang is news director of the Ventura County Star. She can be reached at stacie.galang@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Funnel cloud seen over Santa Paula after storm sweeps through region
