Waterspout spotted at Victoria Harbour

A waterspout was reported around noon in the vicinity of Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) said on Saturday (Sept. 28).

Videos have been circulating online showing a swirling water column, seemingly connecting the sky with the harbor.

A former assistant director at the HKO, Leung Wing-mo, now a spokesman for the Meteorological Society, said waterspouts are rare in Hong Kong, adding that only a few waterspouts had been seen in the city over the past 60 years.

Leung also said the occurrence of a waterspout depends on many factors, including the location of a thundercloud, humidity, and the atmosphere.

"At the time that the waterspout was observed, if we look at the radar imagery of the Hong Kong Observatory, we had a rain area right in Victoria Harbour, and that rain area is also a thunderstorm bearing," he explained.

"So, it all depends on whether this thunderstorm cloud occurred. If it occurred over land, then we would probably have a tornado. We have a thunderstorm cloud right over Victoria Harbour, then we have a waterspout."

Meanwhile, the Observatory warned people to take shelter, saying that severe gusts were striking Hong Kong.

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