Chicago Weather: Rain Shaft Forms Over Lake Michigan During Sunday Storms
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It might have looked like a water spout, but a weather phenomenon that appeared in the middle of Lake Michigan on Sunday was actually called a rain shaft.
Due to a trick of the sunlight, the visible column of rain falling from the base of a cloud looked like a water spout.
Just sent this photo by our @cbschicago photog Lou Kleinberg...
— Robb Ellis (@WxRobb) May 19, 2019
He asked, is this a waterspout?
I think it's more likely a sunlit rain shaft against the dark storm backdrop. pic.twitter.com/nFrpptwpJM
However, the water temperature in Lake Michigan currently is too cold for water spouts to form.
Precipitation shafts can form from rain, snow, or hail, and are sometimes mistaken for funnel clouds, especially at a distance, but when viewed closer are not visibly rotating.