Waterspout
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. |
A waterspout is a vortex that occurs over water, not in association with a supercell thunderstorm. Although waterspouts are referred to as tornadoes by the National Weather Service to avoid public confusion, it is important to note that their physcial structure is quite different than that of a tornado (it is actually similar to that of the so-called landspout). For this reason, they are not counted in official tornado records unless they actually hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes, but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn small boats, damage ships, and cause fatalities and significant damage when hitting land.
It is important to note that true tornadoes that occur over water are not waterspouts to begin with, regardless of whether or not they make landfall. In either case, they are still dangerous.
Stronger waterspouts are usually quite dangerous, posing threats to ships, planes, and swimmers. It is recommended to keep a considerable distance from either of these phenomena, and to always be on alert through weather reports. The US National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move onshore.
Though they mostly occur in the tropics, they can seasonally appear in temperate areas, including the UK. They are more frequent within 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the coast than out in the open sea. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U.S. coast, especially off southern Florida and the Keys and can happen over seas, bays and lakes worldwide.
For some reason, the flap surrounding this "waterspouts are tornadoes" debate seems to have been caused by the effort by the National Weather Service to reduce confusion; the NWS uses a definition of waterspout that states that waterspouts are indeed tornadoes so that the public doesn't endanger itself attempting to second-guess the issuance of tornado warnings.
Unfortunately, this flap has extended to Wikipedia via believers of both philosophies continuing to fight it out via constantly changing the content of this section of the Tornado article and the Waterspout article to reflect their personal beliefs instead supporting reality.
See also
External links
- A series of pictures from a boat getting impressively close to a waterspout.