Locals in Destin, Florida, looked out upon the Gulf of Mexico with horror as a massive waterspout formed. Some people managed to capture the miraculous sight on film and upload the content to various platforms online. Nevertheless, the bizarre weather formation shocked and horrified locals in the area, who were forced to drive past it during their morning commutes to and from work.
When cumulus clouds grow very quickly, a waterspout can form over the water. This weather phenomenon features a whirling column of air and water mist that rises hundreds of feet in the air. They look like their cousins, tornados, so they are sometimes called tornados on the water, although waterspout is the official name for the thing.
This waterspout was sighted at 7 am off the Emerald Coast on Florida’s Panhandle. The water tornado was formed because of massive storms flowing over the Gulf of Mexico in recent days.
Video footage shared to social media by locals in Destin, Florida, showcased the massive storm growing off the coast. The giant waterspout fills up a large section of the sky as it pulls water and air up from the ocean and into its twirling walls. Meanwhile, lightning strikes wake up the dark air around the waterspout as the storm continues to rage on the Gulf of Mexico.
AccuWeather’s Jesse Ferrell confirmed what many people thought – this was not a typical waterspout but one that was very incredible given the circumstances.
“It looks like this was a legitimate tornado over water formed by a supercell thunderstorm, not a weak waterspout spun up from a rain shower,” Ferrell explained.
Data from the weather service indicated that a thunderstorm formed off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. This storm triggered the waterspout as it was moving southeast across the waters.
After the waterspout was spotted, The National Weather Service issued a marine warning urging boaters and swimmers to stay clear of the water until the storm passed.
Although this sighting was unique and special, it is not the first waterspout sighted off the Florida panhandle this summer. It is actually the fifth water tornado that has formed in the area. Data on waterspouts are not plentiful, so authorities do not really know how often they occur or other information about their typical activity.
Daily Mail readers shared hundreds of comments about this Florida waterspout.
“Spectacular footage. The beach in the Panhandle is beautiful, and it is lovely to watch when a storm rolls in.”
“While working on the family shrimp boats when young, we saw a lot of them, albeit much smaller than the one shown. Seemed sort of common when squalls were coming in, but we were too busy pulling up the gear before the storm arrived to gawk at them much.”
“As a Floridian, I can assure you that waterspouts don’t scare us.”
What do you think about this waterspout?