PANAMA CITY BEACH Fla. — A Georgia family was enjoying morning tea on their balcony in Panama City Beach when they saw something terrifying: A massive waterspout that moved from the Gulf of Mexico onto land.
Ankur Singh, a professor at Georgia Tech, was vacationing with his wife and two daughters for spring break when they spotted the scary sight Saturday morning.
“It was amazing. It was something I’ve never seen in my life,” Singh said. “It was so much adrenaline rush in all of us and we were screaming at the same time, it was very very scary.
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The massive funnel caused some severe damage as it moved inland. A convenience store and a home nearby were destroyed, local officials said.
There are two types of waterspouts: One that happens during fair weather on an otherwise partly cloudy day. This was likely a tornadic waterspout that developed off a supercell thunderstorm and moved onshore.
If a waterspout moves onto land, it is considered a tornado.
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Singh’s daughter, Aanya, said the storm moved quickly from the water to land.
“It was so crazy how it was right in the middle of the ocean and then in a matter of seconds, it had moved right next to our building,” Aanya said.
Singh’s youngest daughter, Aditi, took it in stride.
“I’ve never seen something like that before in my whole entire life!” Aditi said. “It was very scary. not that scary, but very scary.”