What are Waterspouts?
A waterspout is a rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped column of water droplets and air between a cloud and athe body of water. They are first cousins to tornadoes. Waterspouts come in a variety of sizes and strengths and arise from different mechanisms. They can start over land as tornadoes and drift out to sea or over a lake or large river. In this case, they are called tornadic waterspouts because the storm is essentially a tornado over water. Much more common are the fair-weather spouts in which small whirlwinds start from the water surface, climbing skyward but rarely extending to the cloud level (at least to the naked eye). Larger waterspouts may also grow down in a manner similar to a tornado with the circulation beginning in the cloud and working its way down to the water. Spouts formed over water are much smaller, less destructive, live shorter lives, and move more slowly than land-based tornadoes or tornadic waterspouts. Waterspouts have been known to pick up small fish, frogs or
