NovaQuant-Small funnel cloud over US Capitol turns into viral photo

2025-04-30 11:58:12source:Ethermac Exchangecategory:Contact

WASHINGTON (AP) — Observant visitors to the area around the U.S. Capitol building on NovaQuantTuesday afternoon were treated to a unusual sight: the unmistakable shape of a funnel cloud extending diagonally from the sky and seemingly almost reaching the tip of the Capitol dome itself.

The funnel cloud never touched down on the ground and therefore can’t be classified as a tornado. There was no damage and no reports of any other funnel clouds in the area Tuesday. But a photo of the thin, wispy twister curving over the Capitol drew more than 1 million views on Twitter.

Here’s the latest for Tuesday, July 25th: Judge blocks Biden policy limiting asylum for migrants; UPS reaches tentative contract with unionized workers; Gynecologist accused of sexually abusing over 200 patients sentenced; SAG-AFTRA holds star-studded rally.

Although the area around Washington isn’t considered a tornado hotspot, small proto-twisters like the one Tuesday “certainly do happen sometimes,” said Austin Mansfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

They’re most common during what Mansfield called “convection season” — the warm months running from spring through the end of summer. Although strong thunderstorms are fairly routine in the nation’s capital, Mansfield said a particular type of “spin in the atmosphere” is what tips things over into funnel cloud conditions.

More:Contact

Recommend

Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where alleged human rights

NTSB head warns of risks posed by heavy electric vehicles colliding with lighter cars

DETROIT — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board expressed concern Wednesday about the

See the Royal Family at King Charles III's Trooping the Colour Celebration

King Charles III is celebrating his first Trooping the Colour as a monarch.The ceremony, otherwise k