A waterspout spotted near Lasqueti Island Thursday morning prompted Environment Canada to issue a waterspout watch for the Strait of Georgia.
IN PICTURES: Massive waterspout spotted off Lasqueti Island, B.C.
The waterspout was observed by witnesses on the water as well as members of the Coast Guard at the French Creek station.
Photo courtesy Shaun Radke. July 20, 2017.
Shaun Radke was working on a commercial sein vessel when he heard a broadcast warning the crew about the waterspout just after 9 a.m.
“I just thought to myself, well that’s right behind us, and I look out the wheelhouse and there it was,” he said. “It’s something like I’ve never seen before, like God reaching down for some fish.”
Radke, who says he’s well-known to other fishermen by his slogan “brave the wave,” said in all his years on the water he’s never seen anything like it.
“The whole crew didn’t even really say much,” he said. “It lasted for about 10 minutes, maybe a bit longer.”
Radke put binoculars up to his phone to snap pictures of the impressive waterspout.
Coast Guard officials described the phenomenon as at least 200 meters wide at the base and say it was “quite an impressive column.”
The waterspout was spawned by a thunderstorm moving through the area.
Photo courtesy Canadian Coast Guard, French Creek Station. July 20, 2017.
Fortunately, Coast Guard members say they didn’t witness the waterspout affecting any vessels in the area.
While waterspouts are generally isolated in nature, sometimes they occur in clusters of two or more.
Given today’s weather conditions waterspouts may develop again over the waters near Lasqueti and Texada islands.
What is a waterspout?
Simply put, waterspouts are like tornados over water. Weak roation under rapidly growing clouds or weak thunderstorms generates the funnel cloud. Most of the time, when waterspouts develop, they fall apart before making it to land, preventing them from actually becoming tornados.
However, if conditions are favourable, the rotation can intensify and become a tornado. Looks like this one disappeared pretty quickly, but not before it was caught on camera!
