wind funnels in the area

quick, you see a tornado! what do you do? well, when we lived in minnesota, well known for its tornadoes, we'd run to the bathtub and wait, or hide in a hallway in a walmart (i honestly believed we were going to die during this episode. the wind was so strong, we sat in our car on the protected side of the walmart building, watching the light poles bend at a 45 degree angle. the wind subsided enough that we could get out of the car and run into the building, then into the protected hallway. i've never been so scared.), or drive really quickly while on the freeway (our three experiences with tornadoes--we never saw one, but the sirens were warning enough). but when we live in colorado, where you don't think of tornadoes being in the neighborhood (always more north and west of us), you run upstairs and grab your camera so you can take pictures! kelly was heading back to church yesterday afternoon and he came running into the house and told us all to come outside NOW! we did so and got to see a powerful sight, a whirling, swirling wind funnel. calling it a wind funnel somehow makes it sound much less dangerous than a tornado. we just stood and watched it swirl, it wasn't big, it seemed far away, and it didn't appear to be moving, so i ran in and got my camera and took a series of pictures. then i proceeded to let the neighbors know so they could come outside and see it too! it started hailing and pelting down rain, and after about 10 minutes it dissipated itself and life went on as normal. come to find out from the news, it was just about a mile away. nice. no wonder we could actually SEE the whirling swirling action going on... next time we see a wind funnel, it's into the basement. after a few pictures.