WATERSPOUTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 55, 27 November 1946, Page 6

WATERSPOUTS

OCCURRENCES NOT AS RARE AS BELIEVED

Waterspouts such as one reported from Tasman Bay recently are not rare round the New Zealand coast.

According to Dr. C. J. Seelye, Ph. D., of the Meteorological Office, they are sea versions of the tornado.

Records of them are not as fre--1 quent as those of tornadoes, as the waterspout rarely leaves a trail of destruction—a small boat. capsized at the most—whereas there is usually some damage to mark where the tornado has passed. Casting back over the past dozen years, Dr. Seeyle cited records showing that one of the last waterspouts observed was also in the Nelson area. It was first seen off Pepin Island at 2.15 p.m. on March 18, 1944, by the crew of the s.s. Kaitoa. The engineer estimated the spouts to be 170 feet high and 270 ft. diameter at base. The phenomenon was in view for seven minutes, being subsequently lost sight of in torrential rain. Seen Off Greymouth

To the day, a year earlier another waterspout was seen off Greymouth, moving from the south to dissipate itself on the shore near Cobden. . ,

Earlier than that year another churning spiral of air and water was seen at Pukearuhe, North Taranaki, at a distance of about 20 miles.

In February, 1937, several waterspouts were seen along the coast of Horowhenua. One seen from Hokio followed a course along the coast like a gigantic column of twisting smoke, as an observer put it. Its size was indicated by the fact that it was seen from Levin as well.

At 10 a.m. on March 31, 1935, the column of a spout' showed clearly against the white of the shore, and moved up the harbour at Whangarei. It persisted for three minutes. Report from Ship ’

In the previous month a number of waterspouts were reported from Hauraki Gulf. The s.s. Hartford, completing an overseas voyage, ran past one five miles from Cape Colville. The same night a smaller one was seen by the launch Waitemata between Tiritiri and the Noises Islands. The launch reported the spout as being three and a half miles distant. The water at the base was churning, and, when the column broke, the top portion twirled up till lost in heavy clouds. Lightning played around the spout, which was .accompanied by torrential rain. ,

A spout, possibly one of those reported was seen the same day by the s.s. Antrope, and another, possibly also one of the foregoing, came in to Takapuna from the sea. That was a bad year for waterspouts, no less than three, accompanied by flashes of lightning, being seen at once off Stephens Island on February 24. - .