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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Twin Waterspouts dazzle onlookers over Lake Michigan

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Dueling "twin waterspouts" dazzled onlookers Thursday afternoon over lake Michigan off Kenosha, Wis.

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Image: Kenosha Police Department

Check out these incredible photos captured by the the Kenosha Police Department.

Waterspouts are relatively rare in the Upper Midwest. The spouts are simply tornadoes over water thus the name. The storms are spawned from parent thunderstorms just as they are over land when they are called tornadoes. Conditions were perfect along the shore of Lake Michigan for the twisters, with plenty of low level wind shear -- twisting winds near the surface. No damage was reported and the apparently twisters did not move over land.

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Image: Kenosha Police Department

Twin twisters danced of the Lake Michigan shoreline around 1:30pm this afternoon. The Milwaukee National Weather Service issued special marine warnings alerting boaters of the danger.

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Image: Kenosha Police Department

Here's some good video shot by Diane Giles from the Kenosha News.

Heres' the storm report from the Milwaukee NWS.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI

329 PM CDT THU SEP 12 2013

0132 PM WATER SPOUT 2 E KENOSHA 42.58N 87.78W 09/12/2013 LMZ646 WI TRAINED SPOTTER

WATERSPOUT APPROXIMATELY 1 TO 2 MILES OFFSHORE LOOKING SOUTHEAST AT SOUTHPORT PARK.