This mighty sea tornado has been captured by passersby off the coast of popular Mexican tourist destination Cancun.
The sea tornado or ‘waterspout’ is said to have formed off the beach of Punta Maroma in the south-eastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo and was visible from the tourist hotspot of Cancun.
Passersby shared videos on social media showing the huge ominous-looking grey funnel which unites the sky and the sea.
Credit: CEN/@CHDSM
According to NOAA’s National Weather Service: “waterspouts fall into two categories: fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts.
“Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.”
According to local meteorologist Antonio, Morales Ocana, the morning leading up to the weather phenomenon, there were very strong storms in the area, indicating it was the latter.
Credit: CEN/@yosoyinfo
Morales Ocana said: “In Quintana Roo there were dark rain clouds and some very strong electrical storms, these same clouds of vertical development gave place to this waterspout.”
He went on to explain that the waterspout forms a storm cloud and from the base of these clouds a whirlwind is formed due to the instability of the zone, this whirlwind moves down until it reaches the sea, provoking winds of up to 200 km/ph (124 MPH) around the tornado, posing a large risk for small boats which can be capsized.
Thankfully there were no incidents of casualties reported due to the tornado.
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Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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