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A waterspout appeared in Arkles Bay earlier today, causing a lot of comment on the Hibiscus Coast. The spout was seen over the water and then headed inland where it dissipated over Karepiro Drive on Whangaparaoa Peninsula. Most waterspouts do not suck up water; they are small and weak rotating columns of air over water.
MetService severe weather forecaster Heath Gullery says that waterspouts are a product of an updraft within a heavy shower stretching and increasing the rotation of a column of air. To form a waterspout, this column of air must have some pre-existing ‘vertical wind shear’.
Initially they are seen as a dark spot on the water’s surface, then a spiral pattern, a spray ring is formed, followed by development of the visible condensation funnel, and ultimately decay.
