Tornadoes are usually associated with the central US plains, but they aren’t restricted to land. Tornadoes that form over water are called waterspouts, and while they look strange - twisting columns of mist and spray over open ocean or a lake - they’re real tornadoes.
There are two main types. Fair-weather waterspouts form on calm humid days, usually starting at the water surface and building upward. They’re typically weaker. Tornadic waterspouts form from severe thunderstorms over water and are essentially regular tornadoes that happen to be over water. They can be just as dangerous as their land counterparts.
Waterspouts are most common in tropical waters - the Florida Keys see about 400 per year. They can also occur on large lakes, like the Great Lakes. One of the strangest things waterspouts do is pick up everything in the water - fish, frogs, small turtles - and carry them inland. There are well-documented reports of “fish rain” - small fish falling from the sky in towns near coasts - that are usually traced back to nearby waterspouts.
