Illinois Family Shares Video of Funnel Cloud That Spun Over Them

It's pretty if you don't know what it eventually could become. A family in central Illinois recently shared video of a funnel cloud that spun directly over their heads and it really was beautiful - kinda.

I saw this video shared by Carrie Anderson trending on Yahoo today for a very good reason. It's a compelling up-close look at a funnel cloud that most will fortunately never see. Here's how Carrie described it on their Yahoo share:

“We watched the funnel come down from about seven miles away and decided to chase it to get a closer look, and we got about [a] half mile from the funnel,” Anderson told Storyful. “It gradually got bigger and longer but never touched the ground. It lasted about 10 minutes before it dissipated.”

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Clint Thompson summed up my feelings in his comment on YouTube:

Yeah I wouldn't be mesmerized by a funnel cloud, I would be in complete terror that that damn thing was going to touch down and create a full tornado.

I'm with Clint. Sure, it's a beautiful example of nature at work, but I'd rather not take my chances that the vortex makes contact with the ground and then becomes a twirling ball of destruction.

I found a meteorologist share on Facebook that this was one of many cold air funnels in central Illinois a few days ago. As he mentioned, they rarely touch down, but really are a sight to see.