Social media was entertained with several videos Tuesday morning of huge waterspouts that were spotted, and photographed, off Florida’s Emerald Coast.
The natural phenomenon, similar to a tornado over water, left spectators breathless. It’s not something you see every day.
One sighting near Destin was captured on video by a person on the beach, and was posted by weather.com. The viewer can be heard saying in the background, “Look at that dude, that’s a big ‘un.” A quote that will probably go down in history.
And now everything you always wanted to know about waterspouts but were afraid to ask.
There are two types of waterspouts – tornadic and fair weather.
Tornadic waterspouts form over water and are tornadoes. Sometimes they move from the land to the water and act the same way as a land tornado. They occur during severe thunderstorms, often with high winds, hail and lightning.
Fair weather waterspouts are usually less dangerous and occur on Florida’s southern coast from late spring to early fall.
When a waterspout goes on land, the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning.
The Weather Service warned boaters to use caution in case other storms produced waterspouts.
People in Pinellas County spotted a waterspout that formed Wednesday afternoon, briefly became a tornado on the water, and went onshore onto a beach. Videos can be seen of the waterspout moving in from the Gulf of Mexico and toward North Redington Beach.
The video shows people on the beach running from the vortex as it hit the beach and scooped up the sand.
