TWO TYPES OF WATERSPOUTS

It is not often we see waterspouts in Jacksonville.  Well today I think we had the most famous waterspout in Jacksonville history. Over 50 of you sent us pictures and the waterspout seemed poised for the sky cameras as it slowly moved north over the river today.  Waterspouts typically are located in the waterspout capital of the world, the Florida Keys.  The Keys provide a perfect environment for an average of 400 waterspouts every year.  Jacksonville's balmy, hot, and humid weather was just like the islands.

Light winds made for favorable waterspout conditions.  Outflow boundaries from previous thunderstorms moves east from the I-75 area and collided with the east coast sea breeze resulting in severe storms with 1" hail and lightning which struck a home on fire near Normandy on the Westside.  As the storms moved north from Putnam and St. Johns county, the perfect placement of the river underneath provided an ideal location for the waterspout.  Fortunately the long length of the river was the reason why the waterspout never moved ashore.  Typically they have a lifespan of only 15 minutes.


There are two types of waterspouts and fortunately we had the weaker non-tornadic waterspout variety.   The other, tornadic waterspouts, begin as true tornadoes over land in association with a thunderstorm, and then move out over the water. They can be large and are capable of considerable destruction. What we had was a fair weather waterspout. They form only over open water. They develop at the surface  and climb up in association with warm water temperatures and high humidity in the lowest several thousand feet of the atmosphere. They are usually small, relatively brief, and less dangerous. The fair weather variety of waterspout is much more common than the tornadic.  Needless to say it was scary for everyone today.  Thanks everyone for all the great photos you emailed.