Mercer County EMA, The Sheriff’s Office, and the Mercer County Fairboard have been monitoring the weather situation currently in the County.

Several funnel clouds were spotted in Mercer County. The National Weather Service has indicated these are cold air funnel clouds and they are non-tornadic, they are usually weak, don’t reach the ground, and typically don’t cause damage like a typical tornado.

Rain and thunderstorms are continuing to form in Indiana, moving east towards Mercer County. Due to these weather conditions, after consulting with EMA and the Sheriff’s Office, the Mercer County Fairboard has made the decision to cancel the High School Band Show due to this event being outdoors.

The Fairboard holds the safety of fairgoers and all the high school bands as a priority. We would like to remind fairgoers to remain weather aware through the remainder of the evening. The Mercer County Fairboard would like to thank the community for their support over the last week.

From ChatGPT

Cold-air funnels are a type of tornado-like weather phenomenon that forms when cool, unstable air interacts with warmer air near the ground.

🌪️ What makes them different?

  • They often develop beneath showers or weak thunderstorms, rather than powerful supercells.
  • They can appear when the atmosphere is cold aloft but relatively warm near the surface.
  • They are frequently short-lived and may form away from the strongest part of a storm.
  • Many remain as funnel clouds and never reach the ground.
  • If one does reach the surface and produces a circulation capable of causing damage, it can be classified as a tornado.

⚠️ Are they dangerous?

Usually they’re much weaker than classic supercell tornadoes, but they shouldn’t automatically be considered harmless. A cold-air funnel that reaches the ground can still produce localized damage.

They are particularly interesting in the Great Lakes and Midwest, where cold air aloft can interact with relatively warm, humid air near the surface.