Waterspouts: Spinning Over Water

A waterspout is a rotating column of air over water. It connects the surface to a cumuliform cloud above.

Most are fair weather types. They last under 20 minutes and rarely exceed EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

They spun together over Lake Michigan.

Tornadic ones form from mesocyclones. In the Adriatic, Aegean and Ionian Seas they make up half the total number.

They exist on a microscale less than two kilometers wide. The parent cloud can be moderate.

Europe reports about 160 per year. The Netherlands leads with 60, followed by Spain and Italy at 25 each. Spain and Italy had to share.

Fast winds lift anything within 90 cm of the surface. Fish, frogs and turtles get pulled upward into clouds.

In the 18th and 19th centuries sailors fired broadside cannon volleys to disperse them. Cannons were standard meteorological equipment back then.