KABALE- On Monday 21, residents in areas of Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale district witnessed a rare phenomenon and went into a panic when a destructive vortex of violently rotating winds known as ‘Tornado’ appeared in a funnel-shaped cloud.
The smoke descended into the lake and covered the sky accompanied by a large storm for quite a number of minutes.
Scientists say the occurrence was as a result of atmospheric disruptions around a low-pressure area which is usually accompanied by violent storms and severe weather conditions.
According to Moses Banyenzaki who owns an engine boat at Harutinda Landing Site, the incident happened after a heavy downpour accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms on Monday evening.
Then the site, comprising white smoke snaking from the sky into the lake was visible in parts of Kabale and Rubanda district.
What happened before?
Residents say they had heavy rains the whole afternoon of January 20, 2019, in areas of Kabale and Rubanda districts which share borders of Lake Bunyonyi.
They say it started at around 4 pm accompanied by lightening’s and thunderstorm as it poured for almost 2 hours stopping at 6 pm.
The cloud contacted the water which was followed by a waterspout; it then reduced slowly in thickness before disconnecting from the water surface.
A waterspout is locally known as “eshata” in rukiga which natives believe can be chased by screaming loud. For that case, local people in the nearby areas were heard shouting loud to scare it away and avert the dangers likely to come with it.
