Watch: Large 鈥榳aterspout tornado鈥� off coast of Brittany
The relatively rare meteorological phenomenon was spotted in Finist猫re this week, prompting an expert to explain how they happen
The 鈥榳aterspout鈥� phenomenon is relatively rare in Brittany but one witness described it as 鈥榠mpressive鈥� (image for illustration only)
Skreidzeleu / Shutterstock
A large 鈥榳aterspout鈥� has appeared off the coast of Finist猫re in Brittany, in an impressive example of the rare meteorological phenomenon.
Waterspouts appear in the shape of a tornado but are actually seawater, and hover above the sea. This one was seen on November 1 off the coast of Penmarc鈥檋.
D茅borah Le Palud, who owns a salon on the coast, : 鈥淚t was impressive. The sky was dark and the rain was intense [and then I saw] a big line taking shape. It was spinning and picking up big swathes of water.鈥�
The meteorological event is rare.
Steven Tual, the meteorologist at M茅t茅o Bretagne, explained how it happens. He said: 鈥淭he air at altitude is cold and the sea is relatively warm, at 16-17掳C. [This combination causes] winds that turn in circles.
鈥淸This makes the conditions] favourable to the formation of waterspouts,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese form under cumulonimbus clouds, which are storm clouds.鈥�
Mr Tual said that waterspouts are rather 鈥渁typical鈥� in Brittany, but that they 鈥渁re not so rare either鈥�. They generally remain in the sea, but can sometimes approach land.
Another witness, Ludovic Guennec, who appeared to be very well-travelled, said that he had also seen similar spouts in 鈥渢he sea in Ireland, off the coast of Africa, and on the way to the Kerguelen Islands [islands in the French southern Antarctic].鈥�
The 鈥榮ea tornado鈥� comes after several real (and much more destructive) wind tornadoes have hit France in recent months. These include incidents in Hauts-de-France, Normandy, and Pas-de-Calais.
Similarly, a 鈥榙ust devil鈥� mini-tornado was spotted in a wheat field in a village in Loire-Atlantique in July.
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