UPDATE: Waterspout On Lake Champlain Likely A Steam Devil Instead

Steam devils southwest of Burlington,
Vermont on January 3, 2013.  I was reminded of this pic
I took after an arctic air waterspout was reported near
Willsboro Point, New York Monday. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Post updated throughout with new information from the International Centre For Waterspout Research:

Temperatures last Monday morning was near or below zero in much of the region.  The water in Lake Champlain at the time was near a relatively toasty 40 degrees.  

That was a recipe for a relatively rare phenomenon: What looked like a waterspout on Lake Champlain.

I thought it was a waterspout too, and posted it as a spout.  

A person named Sophie Clark filmed the tall, skinny steam devil drifting past her windows overlooking the lake in Willsboro Point, New York.  

There's a chance this was a waterspout, but the International Centre for Waterspout Research saw the video and said it's a steam devil. 

Here is, in part, their explanation: 

"Steam devils.... are whirls of steam that form when very cold air moves over open water. They vary in size, appearing most often as thin and rope-like, but occasionally are seen as large wide columns with a clear central core extending several hundred meters in height."

 The waterspout researchers explain further:

"Each winter, the public often mistakes steam devils for waterspouts. This occurs when a steam devil extends to a cloud base. The main difference between steam devils and waterspouts is that steam devils are much weaker than waterspouts. Steam devils do not exhibit the characteristic 'spray ring' that waterspouts do near the surface of the water."

Me again here. Yes, we're getting into semantics, of course, When a steam devil connects with a cloud overhead, there's presumably a bit of rotation at that cloud connection.  That would make me call it a waterspout.  However, the International Centre for Waterspout Research deems this set up too weak to be called a true waterspout. 

I couldn't tell from the video whether whatever that was near Willsboro Point was a steam devil or waterspout. I couldn't tell whether there was any kind of "spray ring" at its base. 

The researchers say wintertime waterspouts can and do occur over frigid winter lakes, but these waterspouts are almost always obscured by falling snow. 

Steam devils, or maybe waterspouts sometime form on very cold mornings over open lake water.  On any such morning, you can look out over the lake and see "steam devils," whirls of steam rising above the water.

Every once in awhile, a steam devil will make a connection with the clouds above.  That's when we enter the gray area between steam devil and water spout.  But, if they stay weak, as they pretty much always do, they're a steam devil. ,

These frigid weather steam devils aren't dangerous, perhaps unless you're stupid enough to be out in those frigid conditions in a kayak or row boat.  

I'm not aware of any of these winter waterspouts coming ashore along Lake Champlain but if one did, I can't imagine it would cause any damage, except perhaps a few small branches or twigs breaking. 

Following some Lake Champlain steam devils or perhaps waterspouts in January, 2009, meteorologists at the National Weather Service in South Burlington wondered why there were so few confirmed instances of Arctic weather waterspouts on Lake Champlain.  

There'd been reports of winter waterspouts on Lake Champlain in 1954, and to a lesser extent, 2014.  

Eight years to the day before the Willsboro waterspout was filmed, I photographed and videod what were either cold air waterspouts or steam devils that almost became waterspouts on January 3, 2013.  Video is at the bottom of this post. 

Steve devils forming
on Lake Champlain January 3, 2013.
It was unclear if a full waterspout
formed from this attempt. 

I see that somebody from the International Centre for Waterspout Research did see my video.  They declared what I filmed steam devils, so we'll go with that. 

Part of the reason there had been so few reports of winter waterspouts, or anybody parsing the distinction between spouts and devils, is that few people are nuts enough to stand on the lake shore in 20s below wind chills looking for waterspouts. (As I've already spilled, I  confess to doing this). 

 I expect we might see more reports of winter waterspouts as everybody keeps cameras in their pockets nowadays.

Another reason few Lake Champlain waterspouts have been spotted is because the convective clouds helping to produce them are also dumping snow showers. The falling snow would obscure the waterspouts.  You also need open water on the lake, of course. 

The National Weather Service meteorologists said it's also possible you need the clouds above the lake to not have a height much more than 2,000 feet. 

The meteorologists said you might also need the right combination of converging air currents.   The 2009 waterspouts came on a day with winds from the northeast near the surface of the lake and winds from the west at 3,000 feet overhead. That mix of wind directions at different levels could have been a needed ingredient for the spouts. 

NWS meteorologists said the Arctic waterspouts are probably more common than confirmed reports suggest.  You have to be in the right place at the right time to see them.  And freezing your butt off when you do see them. 

We're due for a sharp Arctic tomorrow and Tuesday. I don't know whether any waterspouts will form then. But if you're willing to basically dress for a lovely January beach vacation in Ninavut, go to the shores of Lake Champlain and see what develops.  At the very least, the steam rising from the lake will be pretty. 

Here's the video taken by Sophie Clark of the waterspout passing by Willsboro Point, New York Monday. Click on this hyperlink to view, or click on the arrow on the image below, then the YouTube logo.  Below this video is the one I took on January 3, 2013 from Burlington, Vermont's Waterfront Park 

Next up:  Video I took in the late afternoon, January 3, 2013 as temperatures plunged to near or just below zero.  You can see the steam devils in my video making connections with the clouds overhead. I 

Click on this hyperlink or view below: