what is a "waterspout"?... like the one in this video...?

Question

Is this a tornado of water?? The video is labled as "waterspout" -- maybe that's another name for it, i dont know... but I'm curious...

check it out > http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=24140181

Answer 1

Waterspouts are simply tornadoes over water. These are not any where near as dangerous as tornadoes over land. Occasionally they may be tornadoes that form over land and then travel over water, in which case they are referred to as tornadic waterspouts. They can and have produced major damage to ocean-going vessels. It is estimated that some 100 of these form over the shallow coastal waters of the Florida Keys each month during the summer. They usually have diameters of 3 to 100 meters and last for only around 15 minutes.

Answer 2

Waterspout is the name that is given to tornadoes over bodies of water. That being said, waterspouts are often much weaker than your standard land variety of tornado. They often form under clouds that would probably not produce tornadoes over land, for example, under towering cumulus clouds. The funnel may not go all the way from the cloud to the water surface, but you will see that the circulation does go all they way down because the water that is churned into spray. Sometimes when such weak tornadoes occur over land they are called "landspouts." Make no mistake about the one in that video, though, that is a full-fledged tornado, and definitely stronger than your typical waterspout.

Answer 3

Waterspout is a funnel-shaped tornado cloud which extends from the surface of a sea or inland water to the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.
A cone-like point of cloud descends from the cumulonimbus cloud base to the agitated sea below and assumes the appearance of a column of water,the diameter of which may vary between a few tens and a few hundreds of feet.The duration of waterspout ranges up to about half an hour, during which time the column may be appreciably bent by vertical wind shear.A circular and violent circulation of air is caused near the waterspout with an associated confused sea.The phenomenon is more common in the tropics and subtropics than in higher latitudes.

Answer 4

A waterspout is a tornado that is in contact with a body of water, such as a lake or, more commonly, an ocean. They can be generated in multiple ways, and do not necessarily need a strong thunderstorm.

Answer 5

a waterspout is a tornado that starts up in the air but the bottom lands in a large body of water