Stormy weather spun out a waterspout near Tampa Bay, Fla., Monday, and cars stopped along the road as
drivers snapped pictures, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
Waterspouts are common this time of year, a Bay News 9 meteorologist told the local newspaper. But they’re often hidden by storm clouds, so people don’t notice them as much.
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The waterspout apparently came ashore in Oldsmar, Fla., where it officially became a tornado and damaged a tree, a transformer, and a mailbox, the Tampa Bay Times said. A few roofs were harmed, but the water spout overall did little damage, the newspaper said.
Yahoo! News posted a clear video of the waterspout forming. The news site reported Station WTSP explained the weather was perfect for waterspouts: “warm water, light winds and high humidity.”
Yahoo warned that even though they look “cool,” they are potentially dangerous, especially if they occur during the winter. Ones that form in warm weather typically break apart quickly when they reach land.
With the easy availability of videos,
USA Today pieced together a lot of different angles on the water spout, which does indeed look “cool.”
But one photo in particular stood out, and
AOL Weather reported that Accuweather.com meteorologist Jesse Ferrell wrote in his blog, “When I saw this photo this morning on Social Media, I couldn’t believe it was real.”
The photo, and additional video footage, was taken by Joey Mole, according to Ferrell’s blog. Mole told Ferrell that he’d never seen a water spout before. It apparently came ashore just 250 feet from Mole’s home.
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