Water Spout in the Solent

[Trident]

Is this a new thing or have those around here for longer than me seen them before Watch: Huge waterspout caught on camera off Isle of Wight

 

[mjcoon]

Is this a new thing or have those around here for longer than me seen them before Watch: Huge waterspout caught on camera off Isle of Wight

No doubt the proliferation of cameras has increased the incidence of observations enormously. Far more than climate change...

 

[lustyd]

Pretty sure there was one a couple of years ago with almost identical headlines and reaction.

 

[franksingleton]

Is this a new thing or have those around here for longer than me seen them before Watch: Huge waterspout caught on camera off Isle of Wight

No. In my days as a Met O Senior Forecaster, 1967 to 77, we often saw reports from ships in the IoW area reporting water spouts.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/getaccess/pii/S0169809504001978/purchase

 

[Trident]

No. In my days as a Met O Senior Forecaster, 1967 to 77, we often saw reports from ships in the IoW area reporting water spouts.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/getaccess/pii/S0169809504001978/purchase

Thanks for the link Frank; very interesting. I've been in Chi harbour for 3 years and never heard of one hereabouts (though have been chased about the north sea by the things) - I guess as ever they don't do much harm so one doesn't get the news...

 

[franksingleton]

Thanks for the link Frank; very interesting. I've been in Chi harbour for 3 years and never heard of one hereabouts (though have been chased about the north sea by the things) - I guess as ever they don't do much harm so one doesn't get the news...

I was one of 6 senior forecasters working a 24x7 roster, so, I was on duty for 1/6th of the tear. At a guess, I probably saw about 5 or 6 a year. Assuming that the others saw similar numbers, that amounts to 30 or so a year. These were from ships and would not all have been seen on the land. In a sense the report about them being rare makes sense.

 

[B27]

Thanks for the link Frank; very interesting. I've been in Chi harbour for 3 years and never heard of one hereabouts (though have been chased about the north sea by the things) - I guess as ever they don't do much harm so one doesn't get the news...

I thought it was a 'factoid' that 90% of the UK's tornadoes happened 'quite close' to Patrcik Moore's house in Selsey?
Or something like that.

 

[colind3782]

I think it was a friend of mine on the IOW opening her Prosecco!

 

[Stemar]

I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that the UK has as many tornados per unit area as Tornado Alley in the US, it's just that they're a lot smaller, so the worst here in several years took the roofs off half a street in Birmingham UK instead of demolishing half a town in Nebraska.

 

[franksingleton]

I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that the UK has as many tornados per unit area as Tornado Alley in the US, it's just that they're a lot smaller, so the worst here in several years took the roofs off half a street in Birmingham UK instead of demolishing half a town in Nebraska.

I think that is correct. We do have a tornado alley from near E end of the Solent to Wokingham. Many are, small and impact few people. When they do,they are big news.

 

[Trident]

Jasper Carrott did a wonderful skit many years ago about a tornado in Brum - I can't remember the exact words but "quoting" a witness went something like "it was terrifying, bin bags swirling everywhere and a traffic cone flew down the road"

 

[AntarcticPilot]

No. In my days as a Met O Senior Forecaster, 1967 to 77, we often saw reports from ships in the IoW area reporting water spouts.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/getaccess/pii/S0169809504001978/purchase

They aren't uncommon on the Fens of East Anglia, either. Obviously not waterspouts, but their land-lubber relative! I've seen one but they often go unreported a) because they are short-lived and you have to be in the right place at the right time and b) unless there's evidence of them touching down, they aren't counted anyway. So one that happens in the East Anglian Prairie can often go unremarked because a) there's no evidence and b) the population density is a few per square mile!

 

[AndrewB]

Here's one spotted 20 years ago while in the Channel between IOW and Le Havre.

 

[newtothis]

They aren't uncommon on the Fens of East Anglia, either. Obviously not waterspouts, but their land-lubber relative! I've seen one but they often go unreported a) because they are short-lived and you have to be in the right place at the right time and b) unless there's evidence of them touching down, they aren't counted anyway. So one that happens in the East Anglian Prairie can often go unremarked because a) there's no evidence and b) the population density is a few per square mile!

One of the lesser-known Zen koans: If a tornado touches down in East Anglia and no one sees it, did it even happen?
It's up there with:
Will Wansworth ever buy a boat?
and
Is a CQR cqr?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

One of the lesser-known Zen koans: If a tornado touches down in East Anglia and no one sees it, did it even happen?
It's up there with:
Will Wansworth ever buy a boat?
and
Is a CQR cqr?

Yes, it is a bit Zen! But there are enough people for their existence to be well-known; it's the lack of professional observers, the lack of damage (so few insurance claims) and their short duration that means that they tend not to be recorded in met records much. Also, the existence of trees means that lines of sight tend to be relatively short. I've only seen one once, which just happened to touch down a field or so away from a main road and I happened to be looking in the right direction. But the preconditions are there - large areas of flat land, and a generally (by UK standards) hot and dry climate.

 

[oldharry]

I have often read they are quite common in the Solent region, though never saw one in 30 years sailing here. Did once see 4 in succession well out in the Channel on a trip back from Cherbourg.