Waterspout — Straits of Florida From Craig Key To West End of Seven Mile Bridge Out 20 Nm, Gulf of Mexico

2025-08-30 · near Sombrero Key Light, Straits of Florida From Craig Key To West End of Seven Mile Bridge Out 20 Nm, Gulf of Mexico

Event narrative

Up to four waterspouts were observed south of Marathon in the Straits of Florida and reported via social media. The first waterspout was observed in shared video to be very narrow, mature, with a visible spray ring, and tilted at a 45-degree angle. A second waterspout observed by shared video appeared to be less mature with the condensation funnel reaching approximately halfway down from cloud base, and with a very faint spray ring. This waterspout had very minimal tilt. The parent convective cells were moving toward the east at 10 to 15 knots.

Wider weather episode

A lower tropospheric trough had moved southward over the Florida Peninsula, producing a broad zone of confluent, moist flow across the Florida Keys. Several waterspouts were observed south of Marathon, Florida.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (24.5600, -81.0900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1292848. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.