A string of waterspouts were spotted offshore from the Florida Keys on Tuesday morning, though none of the spouts caused damage or moved onto land.
At least seven waterspouts were reported from United States Coast Guard and National Weather Service officials at several different points on the Keys. Here's a look at some of those spouts:
https://twitter.com/NWSKeyWest/status/993856149542920192
https://twitter.com/NWSKeyWest/status/993874711187570689
These short-lived (they lasted 10 minutes or less, according to observers) twisters are considered to be fair weather waterspouts, meaning they form through a different process compared to traditional supercell thunderstorms, such as the ones that produce powerful, destructive tornadoes on land.
In short, these waterspouts are caused by low-level converging winds. These waterspouts tend to be weaker than the average tornado, but they can still be destructive.
For more on fair weather waterspouts,
check this article out - and it's regarding waterspouts from the same area where they were noted on Tuesday morning.
Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on this.
For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi