'Giant funnels' on Whitefish Lake left lodge owners in awe

THUNDER BAY — Tina Reed was fascinated and awestruck by the weather phenomenon she witnessed this week at Whitefish Lake, but she is even more grateful no one got hurt. 

Reed, her husband and their guests at Brandt's Resort saw and heard what she believes was not just one but a pair of tornadoes cross over the water. 

On Tuesday, after Environment Canada issued severe weather watches and warnings, the couple checked in with all their guests to make sure they were prepared.

They also gathered flashlights, candles, blankets and other things, just in case the power went out at some point in a storm.

"At about 6:15 p.m., we were sort of converged on the lake side of the home that we stay in on-site, and noticed two systems coming together that looked pretty ominous," Reed recounted to TBnewswatch on Thursday.

To the southwest and low on the horizon, she said, there was a long, grey cloud that looked like "a great wall," unlike any clouds they'd seen before.

To the north, they spotted a large, almost black cloud formation moving very rapidly.

"We were looking up at both formations, and I said, 'Jeez, they're going to collide.' "

About 30 seconds later, the group heard a noise similar to an approaching freight train and observed what appeared to be two tornadoes approaching from the west side of the lake, a few hundred feet away.

"Both touched down on the lake, resulting in what looked like giant funnels and big areas of water around each – probably 100 feet – that were bubbling like a boiling pot," Reed said.

"We just stood in awe for about 15 to 20 seconds, amazed at the sight. It was quite incredible to see the power."

She's not sure how long the waterspouts remained over the lake or which direction they headed, as at that point, she and her husband shifted their focus to ensuring the safety of some of their elderly guests.

The couple had already arranged for everybody to gather in a central area for shelter during the anticipated storm.

"We didn't see what happened to the twisters after we left. . . but there was severe wind, lightning for at least the next 10 hours, numerous power outages between our location as well as some of the other lakes heading to Arrow Lake and Northern Lights Lake."

Reed said the power went out, a telephone line went down and some trees fell, but otherwise there was no significant damage at the resort.

"We were just so grateful. All of our guests were safe. So we really lucked out."

Researchers with the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University will be contacting the couple to get more information about what they observed.

A spokesperson for NTP has said the team needs to inspect clear satellite imagery whenever it's trying to verify tornado damage that may have occurred on land. 

Whitefish Lake is about 65 kilometres southwest of Thunder Bay.