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A substantial weather cell developing off the NSW Hunter Tuesday afternoon was responsible for the strange sight of a number of waterspouts – one of them picking up sand as it strayed near a beach.
The rotating air columns formed about 3pm and were spotted at Swansea, Belmont and Redhead.
Newcastle Herald reader Nick Sim, 25, shot the natural phenomena from his brother’s home in Belmont North while observing low cloud drift towards land.
‘‘I saw a funnel mixed in the cloud and gradually it got bigger,’’ he said. ‘‘Before I knew it , it was touching the ocean and then it touched the sand dunes and crossed Kalaroo Road at Redhead and dissipated. I’ve never seen one before but I’ve always wanted to, I love storm chasing.’’
Weatherwatch meteorologist Dave Sercombe said waterspouts developed from coastal showers.
While they were similar to tornadoes in that they were both rotating columns of air, waterspouts were ‘‘more of a nuisance rather than destructive’’, he said.
‘‘Though I have seen one tear the roof off a house before,’’ he added.
Waterspouts are known colloquially in some parts of Australia as willy willies but Mr Sercombe said this was not technically correct. He said a willy willy was another term for a ‘‘dust devil’’ which was more similar to a landspout or mini-tornado.
Fellow meteorologist Don White said even though one of these spouts crossed land on Tuesday, willy willies (are also known as cock-eyed bobs) were slightly different.
Mr Sercombe said waterspouts often occurred during a change in season: ‘‘In April the sea temperature changes much slower than the air temperature. That warm sea surface is an important energy source for the coastal showers developing.
‘‘It will be the wettest part of the year for the Hunter over the next month or two.’’