
What is a waterspout? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Jun 16, 2024 · Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.
Tornado in a Bottle - Discover Your World - NOAA's National …
The vortex in your “bottle tornado” is caused by horizontal spin (provided by you) and gravity. But a real tornado in the atmosphere is caused by a combination of wind shear, changes in atmospheric pressure, and centrifugal force.
Top Five: Weird Ocean Phenomena - NOAA's National Ocean Service
A waterspout is a spinning column of air and mist that forms on lakes, rivers, and at sea. Waterspouts fall into two categories: fair weather and tornadic. Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water.
How do hurricanes affect sea life? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
As the hurricane moves toward shore, the underwater tumult can cause shifting sands and muddy shallow waters, blocking the essential sunlight on which corals and other sea creatures rely.
What is a meteotsunami? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Feb 21, 2025 · Meteotsunamis are large waves that scientists are just beginning to better understand. Unlike tsunamis triggered by seismic activity, meteotsunamis are driven by weather events, such as fast-moving severe thunderstorms, squalls, or other storm fronts with a change in pressure. The storm generates a wave that moves towards the shore, and it is amplified by a shallow continental shelf and inlet ...
What is an eddy? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
An eddy is a circular current of water. The ocean is a huge body of water that is constantly in motion. General patterns of ocean flow are called currents.Sometimes theses currents can pinch off sections and create circular currents of water called an eddy.
What is a hurricane? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
Hurricanes originate in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of America, the eastern North Pacific Ocean, and, less frequently, the central North Pacific Ocean.
What is storm surge? - NOAA's National Ocean Service
This example illustrates water level differences for storm surge, storm tide, and a normal (predicted) high tide as compared to sea level. Storm surge is the rise in seawater level caused solely by a storm.
How is sea level rise related to climate change? - NOAA's National ...
By 2100, sea levels may rise another one to eight feet. Sea level can rise by two different mechanisms with respect to climate change. First, as the oceans warm due to an increasing global temperature, seawater expands—taking up more space in the ocean basin and causing a rise in water level.
What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?
Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon: tropical cyclones. A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.