Massive Waterspout Captured On Video In Florida

DESTIN, FL — A massive waterspout formed off the Florida coast Tuesday morning, delighting beachgoers and weather enthusiasts on social media. (See video at the bottom of this story.)

A time lapse of the waterspout from the livecam at Pelican Beach Resort was posted by a Twitter user who said it took about six minutes to move across the screen.

Instagram user @boo_freeman posted a video of the tall gray funnel as lightning lit up the sky around it.

Another video posted by Steve Rivera on Facebook shows the waterspout towering over a mostly empty beach in Destin and a wide view of the storm.

The presence of 10-20mph westerly winds and 10-20 mph southeasterly winds caused surface vorticity, or localized spin, off the Destin coast. The presence of high-intensity thunderstorms caused that surface vorticity to rise and form the waterspout, according to the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama.

When the conditions are as optimal as those Tuesday morning, there can be "some spectacular results" like the Destin waterspout, according to the agency.

"Typically they are not as extreme as this one, but even weaker storms can generate waterspouts if the basic ingredients are present," the agency said.

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