BROOKINGS, Ore. — Multiple waterspouts were reported along Oregon's southern coast Wednesday evening, according to KGW meteorologist Rod Hill.
Ilyse Sheppard shared a video showing one of the waterspouts off of Brookings around 7:30 p.m. Sheppard said it was located between Harris Beach and Cape Ferrello, and that it was in view for about 30 minutes.
"There were actually several reports of different waterspouts off the coast of Brookings yesterday between that 5 and 7:30 hour," Hill said.
Waterspouts are whirling columns of air and mist, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There are two different kinds: fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts. Fair weather waterspouts typically form along the base of a line of developing cumulus clouds, NOAA said. Tornadic waterspouts form over water or move from land to water.
"Basically, you get a vortex, a tornado over water that touches down, and you call it a waterspout as opposed to a tornado," Hill said. "It doesn’t suck up the water like a straw, like maybe you’d think it might. It just kind of swirls the water around."
Hill said the average waterspout can have anywhere from about 30 to 70 mph windspeed. He added that while there are some exceptions, generally waterspouts are not dangerous.
"Typically, waterspouts are pretty to look at and do little harm," he said.
Tornadic waterspouts are often associated with thunderstorms and are accompanied by large hail and lightning, according to NOAA.
Much or northwest Oregon was under a chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday. A KGW photojournalist shared video showing hail coming down in west Multnomah County.
The National Weather Service in Portland said there's a 20-30% chance of thunderstorms along the coast through Thursday night.