Posted: 6/20/2013 1:52:46 PM EDT
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Do tornadic waterspouts occur out in the open ocean or are they always near land? Or, is a tornado a product of the land that can venture onto adjacent waterways? |
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Do tornadic waterspouts occur out in the open ocean or are they always near land? Or, is a tornado a product of the land that can venture onto adjacent waterways? This. (I think) OOPS! Post above quotes from experience. ETA: ARFCOM, Live & Learn in action. |
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I can assure you they happen in open water. I have seen them anywhere from 60 to 160 miles out. this. as a youngster, i worked on shrimpboats for summer work. we would be as far out as jwatts said above in the gulf. i recall one storm we were in where there were three of them around us. it was a mad dash to secure as much as possible on the deck and head in. thankfully they stayed away. on a little tangent, lightning storms are scary as shit too. you are the tallest thing for miles and miles, unless you are near an oil platform. |
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I can assure you they happen in open water. I have seen them anywhere from 60 to 160 miles out. this. as a youngster, i worked on shrimpboats for summer work. we would be as far out as jwatts said above in the gulf. i recall one storm we were in where there were three of them around us. it was a mad dash to secure as much as possible on the deck and head in. thankfully they stayed away. on a little tangent, lightning storms are scary as shit too. you are the tallest thing for miles and miles, unless you are near an oil platform. That's where I have seen them. I am trying to dig up a photo I have of me and a few guys watching some in the distance. They really aren't as strong as a tornado. We have weather stations on board. We took a direct hit once and the gusts only registered a little over 80mph. |
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I can assure you they happen in open water. I have seen them anywhere from 60 to 160 miles out. this. as a youngster, i worked on shrimpboats for summer work. we would be as far out as jwatts said above in the gulf. i recall one storm we were in where there were three of them around us. it was a mad dash to secure as much as possible on the deck and head in. thankfully they stayed away. on a little tangent, lightning storms are scary as shit too. you are the tallest thing for miles and miles, unless you are near an oil platform. That's where I have seen them. I am trying to dig up a photo I have of me and a few guys watching some in the distance. They really aren't as strong as a tornado. We have weather stations on board. We took a direct hit once and the gusts only registered a little over 80mph. that's what the Captain(my dad's 1st cousin) said. i didn't want to find out though!!! they are downright terrifying to a 13-15 year old boy! |
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Quoted: Here are a few pics taken about 65 miles south of Mobile (VK786 if you want to look up the actual location) http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/josh_watts39191/waterspout_zps11db23d2.jpg http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/josh_watts39191/waterspout2_zps99aee72a.jpg http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/josh_watts39191/waterspout3_zpsd1a59013.jpg Cool. How dangerous is something like that to an oil rig? |
| It's not that bad if you are inside. The majority of stuff that can be blown around by something like that is tied down due to regular wind gusts we get. Everything else is too big to blow around. You will find trash cans tipped over, satellite dishes blown out of alignment, and stuff like that, but nothing really major. Structurally these things are made to withstand hurricanes, so 80mph gusts aren't a problem. |
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It's not that bad if you are inside. The majority of stuff that can be blown around by something like that is tied down due to regular wind gusts we get. Everything else is too big to blow around. You will find trash cans tipped over, satellite dishes blown out of alignment, and stuff like that, but nothing really major. Structurally these things are made to withstand hurricanes, so 80mph gusts aren't a problem. I've always wondered about that. |
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We got hit by several off the coast of Malaysia. You could tell when they hit as the rig shook a little but as the other poster said, only lightweight stuff and the satellite dishes got knocked around. You can see them coming and they don't move that fast so you have time to run around and make sure things like trash can lids are secured.
Getting struck by lightning is a lot more interesting. We had one really bad direct strike that caused a lot of electrical problems including screwing up the top drive and one of the cranes. 
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