Do tropical cyclones produce waterspouts?
Yes. Waterspouts — tornadoes over water — have been observed in tropical systems. We don’t know how many of them happen in tropical cyclones, but a majority probably are from supercells. The similarity in Doppler radar velocity signatures over water to tornado-producing cells in landfalling hurricanes suggests that it may be common — and yet another good reason for ships to steer well clear of tropical cyclones.
