REMARKABLE SIGHT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 30, 19 May 1947, Page 3

REMARKABLE SIGHT

TORNADOES IN BAY WATERSPOUT FORMED A number of Opotiki residents recently were treated to a sight unusual to these parts, when three tornadoes were seen over the Bay, one of which formed a gigantic waterspout of great height. The first tornado was seen directly north of Opotiki and was a particularly strong one reaching from the black cumulo nimbus clouds down to the sea. The upper portion of this waterspout was wide and tapered to a

narrow stream about half way down to the sea. The second tornado to form did not reach down to the sea to form a waterspout. It is estimated that the tornadoes were between five and ten miles out to sea. The third tornado formed some time after the others and was remarkable in that the greater part of its length was parallel with the sea. It was very high up and the trunk which resembled a huge fire hose must have been several miles long. The bottom of the trunk dipped downwards to form only a small portion of the total length of the funnel. The waterspout was first noticed at about 2.45 p.m. and the final tornado disappeared at about 3.15 p.m. The waterspout after some time drifted quickly towards the west where it finally dissolved. A tornado is a whirlwind or violent rotary storm over a small area, especially a storm accompanied by a spiral or funnel-shaped cloud. The tornado is commonest in the Southern United States and West Africa where they are particularly destruc-

tive if they touch down to the earth. When travelling over the sea the tornado usually forms a waterspout. —Opotiki News.