Waterspout outbreak possible on the Great Lakes Saturday

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- Our first shot of colder air is moving in this weekend, and it will be cold enough to generate waterspouts.

A cold front has moved through Friday morning and the colder air moving in will help generate instability over a warm Lake Michigan.

This instability will help to form waterspouts, especially on Saturday.

Waterspouts typically need four main ingredients to form:

• A large temperature difference between the lake and the air above it
• High moisture content in the atmosphere
• Light winds above water
• An area of convergence which generates spin

These ingredients look to be in play later Friday, and especially on Saturday.

However, if you have plans to check out this cool weather phenomenon, make sure you do it safely.

If you get lucky to see one, do not approach it on the water. Winds up to 100 mph are common with waterspouts, which will easily damage a boat, or capsize it. 

If your Saturday is already busy, do not worry! We are now entering waterspout season which runs through fall. So, odds are high there will be another chance to catch a waterspout in the future.