If you're in the Midwest or the South, you can simply look out a window to see rain, hail and even snow in some areas Monday.
But as the severe weather moved across the country this weekend —
*Siren sounds* (Via CNN)
— we saw something slightly unusual. NBC reports, "Cameras also caught what appears to be a gustnado: a low, rotating vortex, weaker than a tornado but still capable of causing damage."
Despite its name and appearance, a gustnado is technically not a tornado.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a gustnado has "no apparent connection to the convective cloud above."
They are also more closely associated with shelf clouds, which are found on the front side of a thunderstorm. (Via National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
But look again — you can see why this might look the same to people on the ground.
And it could feel similar, too. Gustnado wind speeds can reportedly reach 60-80 mph, similar to an F0 or F1 tornado. (Via National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Heading into Monday, The Weather Channel is reporting heavy rain and possible tornado activity in the South.
"We'll watch more storms across a lot of the same area."
And USA Today has bad news for the Midwest.
"And you can see that rain in Michigan, but snow falling in portions of Wisconsin."
But as far as we know now, there are no gustnados in the forecast.
