Eclectic Amateur

Answer: “No, David, that’s what a tornado looks like.” Followed by

“Kids! To the basement, now!“

Happily, it was a not-quite-a-tornado. We got a very nice closeup
(does a mile count as “close” for this? I think so) of a funnel cloud
just hanging down toward the ground. But it wasn’t spinning,
so I guess it doesn’t count as a tornado. I think. I’ll see if the
National Weather Service agrees with me.

Update: According to the paper, it was a “wall cloud”, not a tornado.
It was still impressive.