Mike Weight saw something strange as he was strolling on Honeymoon Island on Wednesday, so he pulled out his phone and snapped off a couple of pictures, then sent them in to Tampa Bay Times to ask if they knew what it was.
The Times headlines with "It's a funnel cloud! It's a shadow! No, it's ... what is it?"
Chief meteorologist at Bay News 9, Mike Clay, had no idea what it was either, so he consulted several other experts and while one meteorologist posed a theory that it could be the shadow of a contrail, the stream of condensed water vapor left by a rocket or plane, they concede it is just a theory and no verifiable explanation can be found.
Clay said no one he spoke with is entirely sure what Weight saw, stating "I think we're all just guessing."
Any guesses from readers on what it is?
While Mr. Weight took a picture but no video, looking around YouTube shows there are other black lines, unexplained, but only one that is even similar to the photo above.