Weather phenomena

If we would have gone on our vacation this month, we'd be flying home today. I'd be tan & salty and dreading the return to cold weather. (It is currently 79* in Tortola and 27* here.) So in honor of the dramatic weather change we would have experienced, I present you with photos that I took last January of a waterspout over the Sir Frances Drake Channel. (You can click each photo to enlarge it and take a better look.)

I was photographing this gorgeous golden sunset...


.. when I noticed something suspicious.


I zoomed in to take a closer look and that's when I realized it was a waterspout.


The waterspout continued to grow and shift...


..and headed closer to us.


When the sun finally set and the sky darkened...


..it took on an ominous feel.


But it didn't last long. Fifteen minutes start to finish, and the waterspout was gone.


That next to the last photo has had a small moment of glory. I sent it to the weatherman of a local TV station and he loved it so much that showed it on-air. He told the story of how and where I saw it, then took the opportunity to describe waterspouts in general. It wasn't a scary thing to watch. It was beautiful!