Waterspouts: View From Afar
Message from the Cap’n is a compilation of fishing advice, waterman and weather insights, Chesapeake lore, and ordinary malarkey from the folks who keep their feet wet in the Potomac and St. Mary’s rivers.
The Cap’n
Waterspouts are fascinating to witness especially if you see them in the distance.
Such was the occasion August 17, 2021, in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay between Cove Point and Barren Island.
Angry skies were the norm that morning with numerous cloudbursts with downpours on the eastern horizon above Hooper’s Island. Wind was from the southeast about 10 knots.
These waterspouts occurred in the morning hours between 8 and 9 am.
Everyone’s eyes were glues to the spectacle at hand as from five to seven water spouts were sighted during this hour. And I repeat, this was very interesting to see from afar.
NOAA’s National Weather Service advises the best way to avoid a waterspout is to move at a 90-degree angle to its apparent movement. Never move closer to investigate a waterspout. Some can be just as dangerous as tornadoes.
The waterspouts that we witnessed that morning were on the southern side of a storm mass that was moving up the Bay. According to National Geographic, despite its name, a waterspout is not filled with water from the ocean or lake. A waterspout descends from a cumulus cloud. It does not “spout” from the water. The water inside a waterspout is formed by condensation in the cloud.
Wikipedia describes a waterspout as an intense columnar vortex usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud that occurs over a body of water. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water having a five-part life cycle: formation of a dark spot on the water surface, spiral pattern on the water surface, formation of a spray ring, development of the visible condensation funnel, and ultimately after 5 to 10 minutes delay.
According to NOAA, “tornadic waterspouts,” also accurately referred to as “tornadoes over water,” are formed in connection with severe thunderstorms, but simply occurring over water.
Again: Never move closer to investigate a waterspout — they can be as dangerous as tornadoes.
Be Safe Out There,
Cap’n Jack
Till next time, remember “It’s Our Bay, Let’s Pass It On.”
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