Plain English Meaning

A spinning, funnel-shaped column of air that reaches from a cloud down to the water. It is essentially a tornado over water and contains strong rotating winds.

Full Definition

A rotating column of air, similar in structure to a tornado, that forms over a body of water and extends from the base of a cumuliform cloud down to the water surface. Waterspouts can occur as tornadic waterspouts (associated with severe thunderstorms) or fair-weather waterspouts (which form under lighter conditions over warm water), and both produce strong rotating winds capable of damaging aircraft and small vessels.