Witnesses recorded with their phones a waterspout off the coast of Malaga city on Monday. It swept across the bay of Malaga in broad daylight, ... visible from the central La Malagueta beach.
The waterspout remained at a considerable distance from the coast, at no point threatening to approach the land. That said, this type of phenomenon can cause damage to boats if they happen to collide with it.
It is common for incidents of this kind to occur during periods of strong winds in autumn. In 2024, there were as many as eight such incidents at various locations along the Costa del Sol.
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Waterspouts are meteorological phenomena that occur when warm, moist air rises rapidly above the water, spinning as the winds change direction at different altitudes. They can extend out over the sea, making them dangerous for ships, but they rarely make landfall. When they do, they cause damage similar to that of tornadoes.
Waterspouts operate in a similar way to other common phenomena, such as sand and dust devils, which are often seen on beaches, although a waterspout is more intense.