The storms that hit various parts of Mallorca last Friday saw four impressive waterspouts form off the coast of Santanyí, a town in the south of the Spanish island, and all in the space of five minutes.
Numerous lightning strikes and flooding affected the interior parts of the island and continued throughout the weekend with equally impressive hailstorms.
Fortunately, this impressive storm caused no casualties, only material damage.
A waterspout is an intense columnar whirlpool (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water.
In its common form, it is a tornado over water whose life cycle consists of five parts: formation of a dark spot on the surface of the water, formation of a spiral on the surface of the water, formation of a spray ring, development of the visible condensation funnel and, finally, disintegration.
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Most waterspouts do not suck water;
they are small, weak columns of air rotating above the water.
Although they are most often weaker than their terrestrial counterparts, there are stronger versions spawned by cyclones.