What is the difference between a waterspout and a tornado

One big difference between tornadoes and fair weather waterspouts are how they form. Tornadoes form from the cloud formation growing downwards, eventually touching the ground.

Waterspouts are the opposite. Fair weather waterspouts actually form on the surface of the water, and work their way upward. And yes they can happen on Lake Erie. A quick look at identifying both tornado and water spouts. Now compare their movement and speed. Tornadoes form in severe weather, where winds can be very fast.

This gives tornadoes an average moving speed of 30 mph. This is not the speed of winds in the tornado, just how fast the tornado can move across the ground. Because fair weather waterspouts form during light winds, they actually move very little, mostly less than 5 to 10 mph.

What about their intensity? The primary difference is that waterspouts occur over a body of water whereas tornadoes tend to happen over dry land. Waterspouts are a type of tornado that is usually less powerful and less destructive due to the fact that there is usually less in its path to destroy.

A waterspout is a tornado-like column of whirling air and mist that forms over water. They tend to be weaker than tornadoes yet they are sometimes confused with tornadoes as they come about from the same stormy conditions. Waterspouts tend to form over water and then move onto land where they then will become what is classified as a tornado.

Fairweather waterspouts are much milder than their tornadic counterpart. They form from cumulus clouds and produce columns of wind that are slightly weaker. The second kind of waterspout, known as a mesocyclonic tornado, is formed from powerful thunderstorms. They begin over the land as typical tornadoes and then move across onto the water where they whirl air and wind around on a vertical axis.

Waterspouts are found in the tropical and subtropical areas but there have been reports of them in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Great Lakes, even Antarctica. Waterspouts usually come about in tropical, subtropical and humid weather conditions — they love the combination of warm water and cool air.

Next, a spray ring and condensation funnel forms, and the vortex continues to reach its maximum power before finally dying away. Previous Newscasts. WECT Anywhere. WECT Jobs. GenX Water Investigation. First Alert Skycams. First Alert Hurricane Center. Friday Night Football. Event Calendar. Cape Fear Weekend. Community Classroom. Carolina in the Morning. Conserve Cape Fear. Gray DC Bureau. Investigate TV. Waterspout or Tornado? What's the difference? Published: Aug.