‘Spectacular’ funnel cloud spotted in Woodlands, days after similar sighting in Clementi
What looked like a tornado swirling amid heavy rain in Woodlands left residents reaching for their phones on Sept 30.
But was it really a tornado?
Two Stompers shared videos of the unusual weather phenomenon, which was spotted at about 3pm as a thunderstorm swept through the area.
Stomper A recorded the swirling column from his home at Woodlands Drive 75.
He said there was a sudden strong gust of wind followed by a downpour, with the phenomenon lasting about two minutes.
It was the first time he had seen anything like it in the area.
“Witnessing the force of nature is definitely a rare sight for me,” he told Stomp.
He believed the phenomenon was a landspout, although he said he was unsure whether there was a body of water nearby as the area appeared to be within a restricted military compound.
Another resident, Ken, spotted the phenomenon from his home near Woodlands Avenue 12 at about 2.50pm.
He had received a rain alert and gone to his living room to close the windows when he was greeted by the unusual sight.
It was also Ken’s first time witnessing such a phenomenon.
“It’s spectacular! And it happened just in front of me,” he said.
After searching online, Ken wondered if what he had seen was a landspout.
Similar sighting in Clementi three days earlier
Just three days earlier, another funnel-shaped cloud was spotted in Clementi.
Stomper Steve said he witnessed the phenomenon over the Clementi Stadium playing fields at about 11.25am on Sept 27 from The Parc Condominium.
He did not record it himself but received a video of the sighting via WhatsApp.
According to Steve, the phenomenon lasted only about 10 seconds before it disappeared.
“I think anyone witnessing this firsthand would feel it is an extraordinary and spectacular sighting,” he said.
Steve also believed he had witnessed a landspout.
What is a funnel cloud and how does it form?
In response to Stomp’s queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said cumulonimbus clouds brought intense thundery showers over Singapore in the late morning and early afternoon of Sept 27, and over northern and western Singapore on the afternoon of Sept 30.
“The clouds with a protrusion at their base, observed around Clementi on 27 September 2026 and around Woodlands on 30 September 2026, were likely funnel clouds,” said NEA.
It explained that a funnel cloud forms beneath a cumulonimbus cloud as moist air feeds into the intensifying storm, producing a rotating column of winds.
Whether such a funnel becomes a landspout or waterspout depends on whether it reaches the surface.
“Funnel clouds that reach ground or sea level are known as landspouts or waterspouts, respectively,” NEA said.
Typically, landspouts and waterspouts last several minutes before dissipating once the thunderstorm weakens.
Previous landspout sightings in Singapore
Singapore’s first recorded landspout occurred exactly seven years before the Clementi sighting, on Sept 27, 2019.
It was sighted for several minutes at Gul Way in Tuas after an intense thunderstorm developed over the area.
The resulting strong winds ripped off parts of the roof of a factory building.
Another landspout was recorded at the Changi East construction site on April 30, 2023, sending debris flying through the air. No injuries were reported.
The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said at the time that landspouts were “extremely rare” in Singapore and “extremely difficult” to predict due to their highly localised and rare nature.
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