SINGAPORE: Winds tore up the roofs of buildings near Gul Way on Friday (Sep 27) and sent the debris flying, in scenes rarely seen in Singapore.
The unusual weather phenomenon was captured in viral videos posted on social media.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said this was the first recorded occurrence of a landspout over Singapore.
[h=3]READ: 5 unusual natural world sightings in Singapore[/h]The landspout was caused by a thunderstorm that developed over the waters off Tuas at about 10.30am.
"When the thunderstorm moved inland at around 11am, the moist air feeding into the intensifying storm resulted in a rotating column of winds over Gul Way around the Tuas area," said MSS.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"This rotating column of winds, also known as landspout, is caused by the development of an intense thunderstorm under unstable atmospheric conditions, similar to a waterspout that develops over a water body."
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MSS added that a landspout typically has a life span of several minutes, and weakens quickly when the thunderstorm matures or dissipates.
The closest wind sensor to the Gul Way area is located at Jurong West, about 3km away, and it recorded a low wind gust of 16.1 km/h, MSS said.
Waterspouts have been spotted in Singapore waters before.
On May 11, residents were startled by what they thought was a tornado near Tanjong Pagar Terminal.
In January 2018, a waterspout off the east coast of Singapore caused strong winds that sent boats and rubbish bins flying at East Coast Park.
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