Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Dozens of beachgoers watched a large waterspout that quickly developed over Playa del Carmen. The waterspout was seen moving over the sea near the city’s north-central beach area Tuesday.
Playa del Carmen meteorologist Antonio Morales Ocaña, said waterspouts are a natural phenomena generated by the strong heat instability in the Caribbean Sea.
“This caused a developing cloud line to form, and a vortex called a Manga emerged from its base. Due to its speed, we can see it dissipate across the sea surface as it passed,” he explained.
Some people on the beach videoed the waterspout, uploading it to social media. Within minutes, Civil Protection personnel arrived in the area where the spout had moved very close to the beach and people began to gather.
Spectators were asked not to approach the waterspout since its winds can be compared to that of a tornado. The waterspout that formed Tuesday was a fair weather waterspout, the less intense version of waterspouts. It formed very quickly, moving over water due to heat instability where it eventually dissipated.
