Source: Irish Weather Online

Irish Weather Online (IWO) has received yet another image of a funnel cloud in the skies over Ireland, this time in County Cork.

Seán Twomey emailed IWO with the below two images of the rotating funnel which formed over Tower, near Blarney on Monday evening (11 July) at 7.45pm.

The funnel cloud was spotted less than 24 hours after another funnel was sighted in the skies over south County Wexford (Read IWO story).

According to Seán: “I don’t follow the weather much but was amazed when I saw the funnel forming. The photograph was taken 11th July at 19:45 from my home in Tower, Blarney Co. Cork. The cloud bank was to the east of me (somewhere over the Northeast of the Cork city).  It was extremely humid at the time.”

“I was out in the estate with my 3-year-old son when I notice the funnel. It seemed to be only forming at this stage but I couldn’t  be sure. The funnel lasted only about five minutes before it disappeared altogether. The humidity noticeably dropped within 5-10 minutes. I pointed out the funnel to a few of my neighbours”, Sean added.

There has been a significant increase in funnel sightings across Ireland during 2011. While conditions have been more conducive for such developments in recent weeks, IWO believes advancements in mobile phone camera technology along with an increasing awareness of funnel clouds have contributed to the spike in reported funnel cloud sightings.

The recent tornado in Eglinton, Co Derry, might be construed by some as signs of climate change while others might see the event as another display of Mother Nature’s unpredictable behaviour. The reality, however, is that this weather phenomenon is not new to Ireland.

Ireland experiences numerous tornadoes each year, with a slight majority occuring in summer. In February 1995, a tornado lifted mobile homes off the ground in a campsite in Youghal, Co. Cork, while on St. Patrick’s Day the same year a tornado traveled 28 kms through Co. Meath before dissipating. In 2005, ten tornadoes were recorded across Ireland. They occurred in Dingle, Killucan, Clonee, Ballymore, Rasharkin, Derrymore, Ballinamullen, Markethill, Gougenabarra and Inver.In fact, the earliest recorded tornado in Europe struck Isdalla, near Kilbeggan, Ireland on April 30, 1054.

On a worldwide scale, more tornadoes per square km occur in the UK than in any other country, even the US! Of course, a lot has to do with how many are reported. Countries with vast uninhabited areas may get more tornadoes, but it’s a case of if they’re not witnessed or reported by anyone, then did they actually occur?

While tornadoes are relatively rare in Ireland, funnel clouds and water spouts are a more regular occurrence.  Funnel clouds are condensation funnels extending from the base of a towering cumulus or Cb, associated with a rotating column of air that is not in contact with the ground.  Water spouts, which are more commonly associated with tropical or subtropical waters, are small, relatively weak rotating columns of air over water beneath a Cb or towering cumulus cloud.

MORE reading on this topic