Called waterspouts, the swirling funnels of water are produced when layers of cool air blow across a body of water while warm moist air raises from below.
A column of water and mist forms extending between the surface of water and the clouds above.
Waterspouts vary in size from a few feet tall to more than a mile in height and can sometimes be hundreds of feet wide.
These whirling vortex of water can move at a rate of up to 80 miles an hour and usually last on average 5 to 10 minutes, but occasionally a large waterspout may persist for up to one hour.
Despite their ominous appearance, waterspouts are often much weaker than usual tornadoes and these ones were far enough offshore that they caused no damage and had little impact on flights.
Video captures a waterspout, a tornado that forms a column of water, near Honolulu International Airport: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...ant-spinning-columns-of-water-off-Hawaii.html
A column of water and mist forms extending between the surface of water and the clouds above.
Waterspouts vary in size from a few feet tall to more than a mile in height and can sometimes be hundreds of feet wide.
These whirling vortex of water can move at a rate of up to 80 miles an hour and usually last on average 5 to 10 minutes, but occasionally a large waterspout may persist for up to one hour.
Despite their ominous appearance, waterspouts are often much weaker than usual tornadoes and these ones were far enough offshore that they caused no damage and had little impact on flights.
Video captures a waterspout, a tornado that forms a column of water, near Honolulu International Airport: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...ant-spinning-columns-of-water-off-Hawaii.html
