Oil worker captures dramatic weather imagesViewer takes picture of water spout at sea 70 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
08 July 2009 12:07 PM
An STV viewer has sent in pictures of a water spout seen on the North Sea early on Tuesday morning.
The pictures were taken at 3am on board an oil rig 70 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: "It is effectively a tornado, but over sea we call it a water spout as it is drawing up water into the vortex.
"Tornadoes are more common over open ground and the sea surface ticks the boxes for this. They like flat open space so around the seas they can be a common site.
"The most destructive tornadoes happen in the plains of the Midwest in the US, where you have a mix of warm and cold air and a flat surface, where they can cause untold damage.
He added: "This sort of water spout would have wind speeds in the order of 110-130 mph, and is a narrow body of air moving very quickly, although at about half the speed of big tornadoes in the USA, but If you are in the path they can be very destructive.
"They can be potentially dangerous, but tend to be quite short lived so you would have to be very unlucky to be caught in one."
Last updated: 08 July 2009, 12:11
