Waterspouts seen in Atlantic

Waterspouts in the Atlantic

Residents on the East Coast and West Bank of Demerara yesterday viewed a rare weather phenomenon in the form of  waterspouts in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to a release by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Meteorological Office, a waterspout is a “funnel which contains an intense vortex, sometimes destructive, of small horizontal extent and which occurs over a body of water.” The release further stated that depending on how they form, waterspouts come in two forms; the tornadic and non tornadic (fair weather). In this case, Guyana experienced the latter.

At first glance, a waterspout [depending on its size at sight] looks like a tornado moving over the water. According to the release, tornadic waterspouts generally begin over