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Jiang Chuqin

A waterspout was spotted on Saturday in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour for the first time since records began in 1959.
The rare sight wowed witnesses, including dozens of parents and children at an outdoor swimming pool in Hung Hom near where the waterspout was believed to have landed. Social media platforms were awash with photos and videos of the waterspout.
The Post takes a look at the phenomenon.
1. What is a waterspout?
The weather phenomenon is characterised by a rotating column of water and air that forms over a body of water. Its Chinese name is “dragon sucking water”.
Typically associated with a funnel-shaped cloud, waterspouts form mostly in warm, humid conditions and usually occur in coastal areas or over lakes.
While they may look like tornadoes, waterspouts are generally less intense and possess different characteristics. They can form either as a tornadic waterspout, which develops from a supercell thunderstorm, or more common fair-weather waterspout, which forms in calm conditions without severe storms.


2. How are they formed?
The more common non-tornadic waterspout forms in calm weather. When the sun heats the surface of the water, the warm air above it becomes less dense and begins to rise with moisture. A cumulus cloud can develop rapidly above and create instability in the atmosphere.
Under the right conditions, the rising warm air starts to rotate and forms a visible funnel. Its life cycle is usually shorter than 20 minutes.
While a fair-weather waterspout starts at the water’s surface and extends upwards to the sky, a tornadic waterspout, or “tornado over water”, usually forms at the base of a thunderstorm and develops downwards.
3. What happened on Saturday?
The waterspout was seen swirling across the harbour, from east to west, at about 12.30pm. Online clips showed it formed in the sea near residential estate Laguna Verde Ocean Vista in Hung Hom. It grew vertically and moved swiftly to the west.
It dwindled and subsequently vanished several minutes after hitting a wall at Tai Wan Shan Swimming Pool.
Since the Observatory’s radar captured thunderstorm clouds in the area where it was spotted, it should be classified as a tornadic waterspout, according to Leung Wing-mo, a former assistant director of the forecaster.
Former Observatory chief Lam Chiu-ying said the waterspout was relatively small.


4. How frequently are waterspouts seen in Hong Kong?
The Observatory has records of 44 waterspouts sighted locally from 1959 to August this year. They were most commonly seen during the rainy season between May and October. Most occurred near islands.
In July 2023, a photographer spotted one near the Soko Islands and said it lasted around five minutes. In June 2018, two fair-weather waterspouts were seen near Cheung Chau, the Observatory said.
“A waterspout can form anywhere in Hong Kong, or in any part of the coastal waters,” Leung said.
Since Victoria Harbour’s area was much smaller compared with rest of Hong Kong’s waters, the chance of a waterspout there was correspondingly much lower, he said.
“It just happened that the thunderstorm cloud that spawned the waterspout passed over the harbour.”
Waterspouts occur frequently in other regions. For example, the Florida Keys in the United States have more than 400 every year, one of the areas with the highest number of waterspouts in the world.

5. What should you do if a waterspout forms nearby?
To stay safe, the best approach is to move at a 90-degree angle to its apparent path, according to the National Ocean Service in the US.
It said it was important to resist the urge to get closer to investigate, as some waterspouts could be just as dangerous as tornadoes.
Leung urged people to take safety precautions when waterspouts formed and to seek shelter indoors.


6. How dangerous are waterspouts?
From studies of previous waterspouts in Hong Kong, Leung said, wind speeds could be strong or even reach gale force, making the phenomenon potentially damaging and life threatening.
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was found dead in the wreckage of a superyacht that was hit by a waterspout in Italy last month.
In April 2019, two fishing boats capsized near Dawanshan Island, off Zhuhai in Guangdong province, because of a waterspout. Four fishermen were later found dead.
7. Is there any connection to climate change?
Tornadic waterspouts develop under thunderstorm clouds, relying primarily on heat and humidity in the lower atmosphere.
Leung said with global warming leading to warmer seas, conditions were becoming increasingly favourable for the formation of waterspouts. As ocean temperatures rose, there would be an abundance of both heat and humidity, which was likely to result in an increase in the number of waterspouts.
However, he said it was very hard to use climate models to accurately predict smaller-scale events such as tornadoes and waterspouts. These phenomena occurred on a much smaller scale than what typical models could effectively analyse.


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The waterspout formed in the sea off Hung Hom and dissipated shortly after hitting a wall. Photo: Government Flying Service

Photos and clips of the waterspout circulated online. Photo: Facebook/C Ar Na

A waterspout is seen over Victoria Harbour. Photo: Government Flying Service

The waterspout sighting sparked a frenzy of excitement among people at Tai Wan Shan Swimming Pool. Facebook/Fu Ma

Waterspout may have formed off Sai Kung, Hong Kong Observatory says

A woman stands near the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui as Super Typhoon Yagi nears Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Explainer | All you need to know about waterspouts after rare sighting in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour

A waterspout was seen in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour for the first time since records began in 1959, so what caused the phenomenon?

1. What is a waterspout?