For a pipe carrying water from a roof, see Downspout. For regrowth on trees, see Water sprout. For the performance act of regurgitating fluids, see Water spouting.
A waterspout near Florida in 1969. Two flares with smoke trails (near base of photograph) have been discharged to indicate wind direction and general speed.
Part of a series on
Weather
Temperate and polar seasons
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Tropical seasons
Dry season
Harmattan
Wet season
Storms
Cloud
Cumulonimbus cloud
Arcus cloud
Downburst
Microburst
Heat burst
Derecho
Lightning
Volcanic lightning
Thunderstorm
Air-mass thunderstorm
Thundersnow
Dry thunderstorm
Mesocyclone
Supercell
Tornado
Anticyclonic tornado
Landspout
Waterspout
Dust devil
Fire whirl
Anticyclone
Cyclone
Polar low
Extratropical cyclone
European windstorm
Nor'easter
Subtropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
Atlantic hurricane
Typhoon
Storm surge
Dust storm
Simoom
Haboob
Monsoon
Amihan
Gale
Sirocco
Firestorm
Winter storm
Ice storm
Blizzard
Ground blizzard
Snow squall
Precipitation
Drizzle
Freezing
Graupel
Hail
Megacryometeor
Ice pellets
Diamond dust
Rain
Freezing
Cloudburst
Snow
Rain and snow mixed
Snow grains
Snow roller
Slush
Topics
Air pollution
Atmosphere
Chemistry
Convection
Physics
River
Climate
Cloud
Physics
Fog
Mist
Season
Cold wave
Heat wave
Jet stream
Meteorology
Severe weather
List
Extreme
Severe weather terminology
Canada
Japan
United States
Weather forecasting
Weather modification
Glossaries
Meteorology
Climate change
Tornado terms
Tropical cyclone terms
Weather portal
v
t
e
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water.[1] Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus cloud.[2] In the common form, a waterspout is a non-supercell tornado over water having a five-part life cycle: formation of a dark spot on the water surface; spiral pattern on the water surface; formation of a spray ring; development of a visible condensation funnel; and ultimately, decay.[2][3][4]
Most waterspouts do not suck up water; they are small, weak rotating columns of air over water.[2][5]
Although typically weaker than their land counterparts, stronger versions—spawned by mesocyclones—do occasionally occur.[6][7]
While waterspouts form mostly in tropical and subtropical areas,[2] they are also reported in Europe, Western Asia (the Middle East),[8] Australia, New Zealand, the Great Lakes, Antarctica,[9][10] and on rare occasions, the Great Salt Lake.[11] Some are also found on the East Coast of the United States, and the coast of California.[1] Although rare, waterspouts have been observed in connection with lake-effect snow precipitation bands.
^ abBurt, Christopher (2004). Extreme weather : a guide & record book. Cartography by Stroud, Mark. (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393326581. OCLC 55671731.
^ abcd"A Comprehensive Glossary of Weather: Waterspout definition". geographic.org. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
^What Is a Waterspout? (Weather Channel video)
^Jessica Hamilton Young (17 July 2016). "Waterspout comes ashore in Galveston". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016.
^"Waterspout". answers.com. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^Keith C. Heidorn. Islandnet.com (ed.). "Water Twisters". The Weather Doctor Almanach. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^Lewis, Avi (3 November 2014). "Waterspout wows Tel Aviv waterfront". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
^"Several waterspouts filmed on Lake Michigan in US". BBC News. 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
^Taylor, Stanley (13 January 1913). "Antarctic Diary Part 4: The S.Y. Aurora's stay in Commonwealth Bay Adelie Land waiting for Dr Douglas Mawson and the Far East Party to return, working on the Marconi Wireless". Antarctic Diary. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
^Joanne Simpson; G. Roff; B. R. Morton; K. Labas; G. Dietachmayer; M. McCumber; R. Penc (December 1991). "A Great Salt Lake Waterspout". Monthly Weather Review. 119 (12). AMS: 2741–2770. Bibcode:1991MWRv..119.2741S. doi:10.1175/1520-0493-119-12-2740.1.
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus...
tornadic waterspout makes landfall it is reclassified as a tornado, which can subsequently cause damage to areas inland. When a fair weather waterspout makes...
tornadoes include the multiple-vortex tornado, landspout, and waterspout. Waterspouts are characterized by a spiraling funnel-shaped wind current, connecting...
The landspout was so named because it looks like "a weak Florida Keys waterspout over land." Landspouts are typically weaker than mesocyclone-associated...
as warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornado formation. Waterspouts can also form from mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments...
Stronger thunderstorm cells are capable of producing tornadoes and waterspouts. There are three types of thunderstorms: single-cell, multi-cell, and...
Panhandle. In the early morning hours of January 9, a powerful tornadic waterspout formed offshore of Panama City Beach, Florida and moved inland at EF3...
The south coast tornado was a tornadic waterspout spawned by a supercell thunderstorm off the south coast of New South Wales on 26 December 2001, during...
in many countries throughout history. One hypothesis is that tornadic waterspouts sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and carry them for...
comedy disaster film directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. It tells about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and deposits them in Los Angeles. It...
of a spider as it ascends, descends, and re-ascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system or open-air reservoir. It is usually accompanied by...
morning hours of January 16, most of which were the result of tornadic waterspouts moving onshore. A strong EF2 tornado caused major damage to three mobile...
Chatterjee, Swasti (3 June 2020). "News18, Firstpost Tweet Old Video Of Waterspout As Cyclone Nisarga". BOOM. Retrieved 10 July 2023. "Media misreport: Viral...
(3): 287–301. Bibcode:1998ProfG..50..287P. doi:10.1111/0033-0124.00121. Waterspout on the starboard bow Archived 2009-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Accessed...
tornadoes on record worldwide, killing at least 600 people. It began as a waterspout, hitting the Grand Harbour of Malta where it killed hundreds of people...
source. Waterspouts are defined as tornadoes over water. However, while some waterspouts are supercellular (also known as "tornadic waterspouts"), forming...
notable. Tornadogenesis can occur because of a supercell thunderstorm, a waterspout, a landspout, or a fire whirl, and can happen in any month of the year...
A downspout, waterspout, downpipe, drain spout, drainpipe, roof drain pipe, or leader is a pipe for carrying rainwater from a rain gutter. The purpose...
Adeline Wesner. Zee said she chose to be a meteorologist because "I saw a waterspout on Lake Michigan when I was eight... I was mesmerized. I really thought...
or garguglia, when it has a grotesque shape. When not constructed as a waterspout and only serving an ornamental or artistic function, the technical term...
Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per area (when including waterspouts), but they do not typically reach the intensity of those in the Midwest...
received, a tornadic waterspout formed off the coast of Oahu during the morning of March 9, 2012. Non-supercellular waterspouts are not uncommon (the...
greatest success came in 2013 with the film Sharknado, which is about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and drops them over Los Angeles. The...
Global Information
Weather portal