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Video Shows Twin Vortices Over Boston’s Pleasure Bay as Cause Remains Unclear

Experts say the spin-ups may be natural eddies or aircraft wake.

Overview

  • A walker’s video, recorded Tuesday near Castle Island, shows two small, funnel-like swirls skimming the surface of Pleasure Bay.
  • The National Weather Service office in Norton said the footage shows two eddies that likely spun up in very shallow instability.
  • Reporters noted Boston Logan’s runway 4R likely handled arrivals at low altitude over Castle Island, raising the possibility of wake or exhaust from incoming planes.
  • Whether the swirls reached the cloud base is unknown, so meteorologists have not confirmed them as true waterspouts despite the striking look in the clip.
  • StormTeam 5’s A.J. Burnett noted the nearer vortex appeared to rotate clockwise, which is unusual for most funnels, and a viewer recalled a similar sighting in nearly the same spot about three years ago.