Weak funnel cloud didn't warrant tornado warning: Environment Canada

A wispy funnel cloud that formed over Windsor Tuesday wasn't enough to warrant a tornado warning, according to Environment Canada.

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The dark, spinning cloud was spotted near Lauzon Road about 3 p.m. and pictures and videos of the weather event were soon posted on social media, where they were observed by meteorologists, but no alerts were issued.

Severe weather meteorologist Ria Alsen said the videos of the funnel cloud to-be "appear to be authentic," but that Environment Canada did not warn residents because atmospheric conditions weren't really conducive to create tornadoes.

"It doesn't look like, from the video, that anything touched down," she said. "It was a pretty short event and it looked pretty weak."

The funnel cloud came less than a week after the one-year anniversary of tornadoes that touched down in Windsor and LaSalle, damaging homes and vehicles.

• Tornadoes touch down in LaSalle, Ont. and Windsor

After the carnage was cleared, Environment Canada received criticism from both residents and politicians that warnings came too late, so the weather authority committed to making several changes to its weather centre.

The updates included better access to Detroit radar so meteorologists can keep an eye out for potential storms developing across the Great Lakes basin and improved software to scan social media for reports of severe weather.

But although the funnel cloud was seen on social media, Alsen maintained it wasn't worth a warning.

"We're trying to save tornado warnings for ones that we really want people to take cover and could do more damage," she explained. "Obviously, we want to catch all of these events and warn for them all, but we also don't want to over-warn for events that don't really require it."