Mesmerizing waterspouts spotted on Lake Ontario. Will more appear in Upstate NY today?

Rochester, N.Y. — In a record-breaking year for tornadoes, another type of twister was spotted this week in Upstate New York.
Waterspouts spun atop Lake Ontario on Tuesday morning in the Rochester area as a cold air mass met the relatively warm lake. The stunning phenomenon was captured by photographers across the area — including one observer who could see a waterspout from downtown Rochester.
While they make for a stunning sight, waterspouts aren’t necessarily rare on Great Lakes like Lake Ontario — especially in late summer and early fall, when cool air travels over the still-warm lakes.
While they look like twisters, the whirling towers water mist and air are not always considered tornadoes.
There are two types of waterspouts: fair weather waterspouts and tornadic waterspouts.
The fair-weather variety form over the surface of a body of water when winds are light and usually don’t move very far, according to the National Weather Service. Tornadic waterspouts typically form during severe thunderstorms and are often joined by strong winds, large hail and “dangerous” lightning, the weather service said.
When waterspouts move ashore, they can wreak havoc like a typical tornado — as happened in August when a waterspout spun off of Lake Erie and hit Buffalo.
More of the watery spectacles could appear this week in Upstate New York, according to today’s forecast from the weather service: Conditions could “support the development of waterspouts” on Lake Ontario through Wednesday evening.
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