An impressive tornado formed on the afternoon of Thursday, July 10, in the municipality of Güira de Melena, in the Cuban province of Artemisa, causing astonishment, concern, and a wave of images and videos shared by witnesses on social media.
According to reports published by various users such as American meteorologist Madison Torres, local meteorologist Frank Fernández Castañeda, and Odalis Pérez, as well as specialized meteorology websites, the weather phenomenon made landfall briefly in an open field area, which prevented greater material damage or human casualties. However, the scenes it left in its wake were of overwhelming visual force.
“Impressive images from an entire horror movie…”, posted the page Weather Enthusiasts, where it is confirmed that the funnel of clouds sucked up soil and red dust, which explains its peculiar and terrifying orange color.
Residents of San Antonio de los Baños and Güira de Melena captured the development of the funnel cloud from various locations, which, upon touching the ground, created a column of dust that moved through rural areas of the municipality.
Stopped tractors in the streets, people filming with their mobile phones, and the sky covered by a dense dark mass set the scene that many described as atypical and terrifying for the western region of the country.
What is known so far?
So far, no injuries or damage to homes have been reported, but authorities and official media such as Canal Caribe have begun collecting data on the magnitude of the phenomenon and its possible technical classification as a tornado, based on the interaction of the cloud with the surface.
The event has once again sparked the debate about the meteorological preparedness of Cuban communities, amidst a hurricane season that is already anticipated to be active and characterized by extreme conditions favored by climate change.
This is not the first event of this kind in Cuba in recent years. The memory of the devastating tornado that struck Havana in January 2019 remains fresh in many people's minds. Although today’s event did not have similar consequences, the concern persists: Is Cuba prepared to respond to such phenomena? Do the residents have access to early alerts and evacuation plans?
Images of the tornado in Güira de Melena are now circulating throughout the island and among the exile community. For many Cubans, both inside and outside the country, they serve as a visual warning of nature's power and the fragility of our infrastructure.
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