What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is a tornado over water — usually meaning non-supercell tornadoes over water. 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. Although waterspouts are always tornadoes by definition; they don’t officially count in tornado records unless they hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes, but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn boats, damage larger ships, do significant damage when hitting land, and kill people. The 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.
