Ominous towering vortex leaves puzzled North Carolina beachgoers asking: ‘Do we run?’
Two rotating snakes of wind and water were seen towering over North Carolina’s southern coast Monday, frightening tourists unfamiliar with such strange coastal weather phenomena.
Many took to social media with photos and questions — and lots of references to the SyFy movie “Sharknado” — about storms that suck apex predators out of the ocean.
“Do we run?” Charles McGee asked, sharing a photo taken at Oak Island.
“Water funnel? Tornado funnel? Sharknado?” Melissa Thacker asked. “Who knows, but it’s really freaking me out!”
It’s called a waterspout — a tornado over water — and images posted on social media showed a “mature vortex.” That’s the term the National Weather Service uses when a waterspout “achieves maximum organization and intensity.”
The National Weather Service based out of Newport/Morehead City confirmed two waterspouts were produced by the same shower Monday around 4 p.m., including reports from Oak Island, Caswell Beach, Emerald Isle and Southport.
WYFF meteorologist Chris Justus was among those who shared images, along with a disconcerting prediction.
“More of this will be likely this weekend in coastal areas with tropical air and a low pressure system,” Justus posted on Facebook.
Waterspouts are well known to long time coastal residents of the Carolinas. The spouts are typically smaller and weaker than tornadoes, but stunning nonetheless, due to the wide vista afforded by open water. They are most often found “over tropical or subtropical waters,” according to the National Weather Service.
Fear is justified, experts say.
“If you were on the beach today east of the Oak Island Pier or near Caswell Beach, you might have seen this display of nature,” Oak Island Rescue posted on Facebook. “Water spouts can be dangerous for boats in the vicinity or if the spout moves on shore. In this case, it was reported that it dissipated on its own with no harm done.”
The Library of Congress reports that waterspouts were likely the cause of ancient reports of fish falling from the sky, which is basically the plot of “Sharknado.”
“When the ancient people looked at this weather phenomena, they named it The Finger of God,” Khang Nguyen posted on the weather service Facebook page. “Now I can see why: Mother Nature impressive power.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Ominous towering vortex leaves puzzled North Carolina beachgoers asking: ‘Do we run?’."