On our first day in Quetico Provincial Park May 27th we almost ended up in the Land of Oz. We were on long, narrow West Lake headed for the S-Chain and it was a "bluebird" day in the upper 80's with just a light breeze when the trees near us began to thrash and the water began to "boil". At first we thought it might be a school of baitfish being attacked but then we realized it was a waterspout and it was heading in our direction, relatively small but big enough and powerful enough to dump us in our lightweight Kevlar canoes for sure. Not much we could do but hold on and shoot. We saw this happen once before a few years ago on another lake when a bigger waterspout, more of a tornado actually, touched down on water. In that instance also the weather was calm and there was no indication that something was about to happen until we heard a roar in the trees. It definitely makes you reconsider some of the myths and legends of the Ojibway. (We made sure to say a prayer and scatter some tobacco on the water afterward).

Wild!

Wow! Am curious how long it lasted.

I've only seen one up in the Quetico and it was fairly far away. Great photos!

That's amazing. I've been reading some Ojibway legends each evening. Some truth in those

Pretty neat that you got to see and photograph it.

quote AdamXChicago: "Wow! Am curious how long it lasted."

West Lake is only about 75 yards across at that point so it came and went pretty quickly--maybe 45 seconds or so.

We were camped on another Quetico lake in 2003 and two of the guys were out fishing. It was a warm, humid, still afternoon in late May when tornado/waterspout came in from the southeast. I first heard a roar which I thought was a gust of wind in the pines but it kept growing until it sounded like a freight train, passed right overhead and dropped down onto the lake where it became a waterspout. The lake looked strange--waves were "dancing" but there was no direction to them, they were just popping up and down in sharp points. My buddies heard and then saw it coming and paddled as hard as they could into some brush along the shore and hung on for dear life. I wasn't sure I didn't just imagine it all until they came back, wide-eyed and pretty freaked out. No photos of that one unfortunately--I was too stunned at what I was seeing to move. In both cases there was no other heavy weather, no thunder, lightning or rain. My only guess is that both times it was exceptionally warm weather in late May interacting with the still cold lake water (or else the Manitou was just saying "Hey!, walk lightly, with respect, you're just an insignificant tourist").

neat,I think they have a special name for water spouts?

Love that site on [redacted], springer. However, it has officially been declared "super secret" (even though many people know about it). So please refrain from further mention of it. :)

quote Ho Ho: "
Love that site on Ted, springer. However, it has officially been declared "super secret" (even though many people know about it). So please refrain from further mention of it. :)


"

Exactly--I thought I was the only one who knew about it :)

T

Great pics, thanks!

T

That is incredible. In all my years I have never seen something like that. Great picture!

quote Ho Ho: "
Love that site on [redacted], springer. However, it has officially been declared "super secret" (even though many people know about it). So please refrain from further mention of it. :)
"

Nevermind. It's too small and slippery when wet. The landing is sub-par also.

I saw something similar While skiing in Steamboat years ago. It was a nice sunny day and we were riding up the ski lift when it stopped, as ski lifts often do. While it was stopped, one of these mini tornados dropped from the sky and hovered over the chair in front of us for a full 30 seconds. Snow dust, branches, bits of rock from an exposed side hill and other debris pelted the two skiers on that chair as they tried to shield their faces. All the while the skiers on the chairs above and below them were enjoying the sunshine of pleasant calm day. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it spun away into nothingness and the chairlift started back up. Very strange indeed!

Very cool to get a picture of it. I saw one of these last Tuesday on Ensign Lake. It started close to a tall rock wall and when out into the lake about 50 yards.

Appropriate redaction measures have been taken in my post too :)

quote Springer2: "

quote AdamXChicago: "Wow! Am curious how long it lasted."

My only guess is that both times it was exceptionally warm weather in late May interacting with the still cold lake water (or else the Manitou was just saying "Hey!, walk lightly, with respect, you're just an insignificant tourist").


"

Yes-- technically, meterologically speaking-- a waterspout/tornado etc must come down from a cloud. What you witnessed (I wrote about it on this site several years ago) was likely a whirlwind (or dust devil over water "water devil").

link

better thread on it--- link 2

How fortunate you were! We're you on your way to or from a pictograph site, did a misfortune,mishap or injury occur within several days afterwards? I have had a similar experience on northern Agnes. Unexplainable in western terms. One of several things I have experienced in 45 years in the park that I can not explain. If you can, relate your experience to a local Ojibwa, the analysis will be immediate,conclusive and true. Thank you for sharing. Once in lifetime photos !

quote Silverleader: "How fortunate you were! We're you on your way to or from a pictograph site, did a misfortune,mishap or injury occur within several days afterwards? "

We always visit any pictograph sites on our routes (also the caribou petroglyph site on Agnes, the only petroglyphs in the park). No serious mishaps--we blame those on the maymaygwishi though.