Visitors in Negril, Jamaica, were thrilled to see a waterspout off the coast on Monday, Aug. 19. Pat Aleywine captured this video and his reaction to the
NEGRIL, Jamaica – Weather can be very impressive, and a few visitors to Jamaica experienced this firsthand when a massive waterspout formed in front of them.
The clouds were above the choppy water off the coast of Negril, Jamaica on Sunday when the funnel could be seen forming in the distance. Pat Aleywine said he knew they were about to see something special.
“It’s a waterspout trying to form up,” he said on video he recorded of the funnel. “Get ready to have a show.”
The waterspout’s audience continued to express their amazement at the funnel as it neared, Aleywine said.
Some might confuse the funnel as a tornado, but not Aleywine, who can be heard correcting someone who called it a tornado in the video. Waterspouts form over bodies of water, and can form during thunderstorms or in fair weather conditions. Whereas tornadoes happen during severe weather on dry land.
Fair weather waterspouts are more common.
“Fabulous, fabulous,” Aleywine says of the Jamaican waterspout spinning in the distance. “This has turned into a monster waterspout, so blessed to see stuff like this.”
Three photos edited together show different phases of the waterspout on Aug. 18, 2024, in Negril, Jamaica.
(Pat Aleywine via Storyful)
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While most waterspouts are harmless, they can come onto land and cause destruction. That’s what happened in Buffalo, New York, on Aug. 5 when a waterspout came onshore from Lake Erie and became an EF-1 tornado, causing damage to the downtown area.
A waterspout was also spotted off the coast of Sicily on Monday and has been linked to the freak storm that brought down a 180-foot yacht, claiming the lives of at least five people onboard. One person remains missing.