Waterspout — Straits of Florida From West End of Seven Mile Bridge To South of Halfmoon Shoal Out 20 Nm, Gulf of Mexico

2022-11-04 · near American Shoal Light, Straits of Florida From West End of Seven Mile Bridge To South of Halfmoon Shoal Out 20 Nm, Gulf of Mexico

Event narrative

A family of 12 waterspouts was observed south of the westernmost Lower Florida Keys. Two waterspouts began about 6 miles south of Boca Chica Key and continued forming along a cloud line extending southwest to about 28 miles southwest of Key West. Spray rings were not visible due to obstructed views and distance from the WFO Key West webcams. The widest waterspout formed along a disruption in the cloud line where it shifted more west-southwest. This waterspout lasted over 30 minutes with the condensation funnel cloud extending about one third from cloud base to the water surface. Movement of the waterspouts was toward the southwest around 10 knots.

Wider weather episode

Fourteen individual waterspouts were observed throughout the late afternoon hours oceanside of the Lower Florida Keys. A convective cloud line along the southern edge of the Lower Florida Keys was briefly enhanced as dry continental air moved southwest from the Florida mainland and began to entrain into the cloud line.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (24.4900, -81.6800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1060946. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.