KAPA‘A — A funnel cloud swirled down from the sky Wednesday afternoon, creating a waterspout when it briefly hit the Pacific off the coast of Kapa‘a. “It looked like a meteor hitting the ocean,” Waipouli Beach Resort resident Antone Irek
KAPA‘A — A funnel cloud swirled down from the sky Wednesday afternoon, creating a waterspout when it briefly hit the Pacific off the coast of Kapa‘a.
“It looked like a meteor hitting the ocean,” Waipouli Beach Resort resident Antone Irek said.
He described the view looking east from his condo as it moved slowly from south to north. Irek, who teaches piano lessons on Kaua‘i with his wife, said white water splashed up “quite high” and a line lingered in the sky.
Lihu‘e resident Chloe Rudinoff, who was in piano class with the Ireks at the time, said at first glance she thought it was a whale.
“Then it looked like a rocket or something shot down and landed in the ocean,” she said. “I thought it was a hot meteor bubbling up the water. It was there, getting bigger and bigger, then it moved. … It was so cool.”
Rudinoff said the waterspout was less than a mile away and persisted for around a minute and a half.
Waterspouts can occur when there is enough atmospheric instability, like there has been this week throughout the state, said Jonathan Hoag, a National Weather Service forecaster in Honolulu.
“They’re significant to anybody in a boat in that area,” he said. “Waterspouts that are strong enough over the ocean are quite dangerous.”
There were no immediate reports of any injuries after the incident Wednesday.
“We’re still in a situation where the atmospheric instability will cause heavy showers and thunderstorms tomorrow,” Hoag said Wednesday evening.
The instability is most often due to colder air that has moved over warmer lower-level air, he added.
A flash flood watch remains in effect for Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, as well as other parts of the state, through 6 a.m. Friday.
Funnel clouds are not uncommon in unstable atmospheres, Hoag said, adding that waterspouts are less common. A funnel cloud becomes a waterspout when it touches the surface of the water, he said.
Hoag confirmed that a weather tower and multiple Kaua‘i residents observed the waterspout around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Visit www.thegardenisland.com to share your photos or videos of the waterspout.
