SINGAPORE: Some residents in central Singapore were startled by what they thought was a tornado on Saturday morning (May 11).
The "tornado" was in fact a waterspout, which is caused by intense thunderstorms, and is formed when columns of water are sucked to the base of the clouds.
AdvertisementMany took videos and photos of the sight and posted them on social media.
Ms Grace Ng, a resident at the 76 Shenton condominium, said she spotted the waterspout at around 9am.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"The waterspout was very weak at first, and it kept disappearing and reappearing. But it came closer and then it grew larger. So we managed to take a good shot when the sky was very clear," she said.
The waterspout weakened when it reached the coast, and it then started to rain heavily, she added.
The whole thing lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, Ms Ng said.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said previously that an average of three occurrences of waterspouts over Singapore waters is reported every year.
Waterspouts tend to have a short life cycle of up to tens of minutes and they usually dissipate rapidly upon reaching the coast, it said.
It also noted waterspouts are generally associated with intense thunderstorms over the sea.
However, it is difficult to forecast the occurrence of waterspouts because not all thunderstorms lead to the formation of waterspouts.
The last sighting of a waterspout in Singapore was on Feb 1, 2018, off the east coast of Singapore. The waterspout caused strong winds that exceeded 59kmh and sent boats and dumpsters flying at East Coast Park.
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