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Funnel clouds formed across Southwest Colorado last weekend as monsoon season was in full swing, but the spinning clouds didn\u2019t appear to touch down to form tornadoes.<\/p>\n
Two pictures of funnel clouds taken on Saturday were sent to The Durango Herald: one by Brad Weinmeister, southwest of Bayfield at about 7:10 p.m., and another by David Torres. A third photo was submitted by a reader who spotted a funnel cloud near Walmart in Durango. That photo was undated.<\/p>\n
Matthew Aleksa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said there were no reports of funnel clouds touching down over the weekend.<\/p>\n
A funnel cloud is formed usually amid a thunderstorm as air spins in the atmosphere, creating a rotating column. The formation looks like the top of a tornado, the difference being tornadoes touch ground.<\/p>\n
Megan Stackhouse, also a meteorologist with the NWS in Grand Junction, said funnel clouds are not uncommon in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times we do get impressive rotations, higher up in the storm,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The National Weather Service expects rain and thunderstorms to linger over the San Juan Mountains throughout the week. Those storms may travel into the lower valleys in the late afternoon\/early evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, we\u2019ll be drying out through the week, with locally heavy rain in some areas,\u201d Aleksa said.<\/p>\n
Aleksa said the next significant storm system expected to hit Southwest Colorado will arrive Sunday or early next week.<\/p>\n