Waterspout Video
Mega Waterspout Outbreak
Key West, Florida - May 5, 2004
What a day this was. I filmed at least 7 waterspouts from
a Cessna 182 that just kept popping up everywhere. A number of the spray rings
were clearly spinning anticyclonic which is unusual. Normally waterspouts
and tornadoes spin counterclockwise or cyclonic. The majority
I filmed today were clockwise. According to Dr. Joseph Golden, Senior
Meteorologist with NOAA, there is only a 10% chance a water
spout will spin clockwise in the Keys. For a solid hour, I orbited
waterspout after waterspout until I was dizzy. I finally told the pilot to
take me back to terra firma and there were still spouts forming as we
landed! At one point during the flight we had two small waterspouts
to the west and a bigger one forming to the east. Take about making
choices . . . what do you do? We headed east and filmed the bigger
funnel developing. It never came down all the way but no worries, I had
plenty of waterspouts captured already. And this is only the beginning
of the season . . . the big monster waterspouts are not too far off and I will
be ready for them! Check back.