Kelowna’s chilly winter air and the relatively warm waters of Lake Okanagan came together last week to put on a frosty show.
A cool YouTube video posted by KelownaVenues shows mini tornadoes of steam spinning off the lake’s surface to join a large steam cloud that formed in the sky, creating a ghostly effect.
The phenomenon, known as Arctic Sea Smoke, only happens when perfectly frosty air meets the slightly warmer air rising off the lake’s surface, explained Environment Canada meteorologist Jennifer Hay.
"As the water (on the lake) is condensing and evaporating and moving up into the air and cooling, it swirls around," she told Castanet. "It is unstable, and as air lifts it starts to spin, so you get a little bit of plume coming off the surface."
Check out the dancing "mini twister" at the 0:30 mark.
The video was uploaded on Nov. 30, when temperatures in Kelowna dipped to -18 C.
Here's another video of the same phenomenon taken in Montana last year:
The Northern Lights Over Vancouver
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Open Image ModalThe Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) Over Vancouver(02 of62)
Open Image Modal (credit:Natasha Wheatley)
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Open Image Modal (credit:Natasha Wheatley)
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Open Image ModalNorthern lights spotted over downtown Edmonton. (credit:Twitter, @wallytee )
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Open Image ModalAurora Borealis outside of Fort Saskatchewan (credit:Twitter, @adolwyn )
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Open Image ModalNorthern lights over Edmonton. (credit:Twitter, @CocoFemmeFatale)
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Open Image ModalEven with bright moon light and city lights one could still observe the Aurora Borealis over Calgary 10:30pm Sept 30. (credit:Twitter, @matthewbrucker)
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Open Image ModalEven with bright moon light and city lights one could still observe the Aurora Borealis over Calgary 10:30pm Sept 30. (credit:Twitter, @DRBlend)
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Open Image ModalEven with bright moon light and city lights one could still observe the Aurora Borealis over Calgary 10:30pm Sept 30. (credit:Twitter, @astrogeo)
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Open Image ModalThis one, from Canadian astronaut Cmdr. Chris Hadfield. (credit:@Cmdr_Hadfield)
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Open Image ModalThis gallery shows images of the northern lights captured by photographer Paulo Cabazal between Oct. 8 and 9, 2013.
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