Waterspout seen over the seas west of Hong Kong: Observatory
- Weather forecaster announces sighting of rapidly rotating water column at 4.53pm in sea west of city
A waterspout over the sea near Hong Kong was reported on Friday afternoon, according to the Observatory.
The weather forecaster announced the sighting at 4.53pm, where a rapidly rotating water column was spotted at sea to the west of the city. It added that a tropical disturbance from the South China Sea was bringing unsettled weather to the region.
“It is expected that the disturbance will move northwards and edge closer to the coast of eastern Guangdong gradually today and tomorrow, and will bring showers and thunderstorms to the region,” a spokesman said in the evening.
The Observatory said it would closely monitor the situation.
Witnesses said earlier on Friday that the waterspout, which spun out of dark clouds and the sea, lasted a few minutes.
A waterspout, called a water tornado in Chinese, is a rapidly rotating column containing water droplets, linking the base of a convective cloud and the water surface. Its wind speed is often slower than that of a tornado that occurs over land.