Today, I was doing my thing here in the studio when a message came through our Facebook page. Maine truck driver Brandon Louk was travelling Downeast in the Jonesport area, and as he looked out his window, he caught a glimpse of a funnel cloud that very well could be an actual tornado, in the distance. Which between you and me, is the only good place to spot a funnel cloud.

But being the brave sport that he is, he got out his trusty phone and snapped this sweet photo.

Brandon Louk
Brandon Louk
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I refer to it as a funnel cloud because I'm no meteorologist. I know there's certain criteria that have to be met before it can be verified that it's a tornado. So like most things in life, it's innocent until proven guilty. But come on...it sure looks like a legit tornado. In Maine, we only average 2-ish tornadoes a year. But hey, we did have some pretty decent thunderstorm activity this afternoon, so anything is possible.

Now, Brandon looks like he was at a pretty safe distance. But in case you think you see  a tornado, here's some tips from Maine.gov about tornado activity in Maine:

  • Flying debris causes most deaths and injuries in tornadoes
  • The safest place in your home during a tornado is your basement.
  • Stay away from windows.
  • Get out of vehicles or mobile homes, they offer little protection. Seek shelter in a substantial building.
  • Do NOT seek shelter under a bridge overpass. Bridge overpasses offer little, if any, protection from wind- driven debris.

Above all, I'm just thankful we live in an area where tornadoes are usually harmless, with winds that barely top 30 mph. I can't imagine the folks that live in Tornado Alley in the midwest. I was out there once when warning sirens were going off. It felt like I was in some sort of apocalyptic nightmare. Everyone else was looking at me like I was an idiot for even noticing. but hey, I'm a Maine boy, and we don't deal with this sort of thing very often.

So again, thanks to Brandon for sending us the killer photo. And hopefully, the tornadoes stay that far away from him in the future!

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