Residents in Cancun, Mexico were stunned when a massive waterspout appeared just 500 meters offshore of the area’s normally picturesque beaches. It wasn’t the only unusual natural phenomenon to hit the area, however.
Terrified locals watched the waterspout descend on their peaceful coastal village at approximately 15:45 local time following a bout of ferocious winds and lashing rain which hit the north of Quintana Roo state on Monday. Eyewitness video captured the stomach-churning sight, as residents faced the tough choice of whether to run or hide.
Global warming is getting real. Tornado cuerpo de agua. Cancún. 18/05/20 pic.twitter.com/oewtH1d8LI
#ReporteCiudadano En varias partes de #Cancun y la #RivieraMaya se pudo ver la tromba marina o mejor conocida como manga marina???⛈ pic.twitter.com/PczGfGSOjw
@SkyAlertMx me acaban de pasar ahorita este video, esta sucediendo Justo en este momento, cerca de Puerto Cancun #tornadopic.twitter.com/1EkS30rEJC
Mercifully, the waterspout only lasted a few minutes before dissipating, but long enough to scare the living daylights out of astonished locals.
Meanwhile, further south, on the Mexican Riviera Maya, locals were stunned by a more tranquil natural phenomenon, in the form of a solar halo.
Solar halos form when there is excess humidity in the upper atmosphere, refracting incoming sunlight, creating a perfect circle of golden sunshine suspended in the sky in the process.
While it made for a truly breathtaking sight, solar halos usually signify an impending bout of unsettled weather. Sure enough, lightning, hail, torrential rains and ferocious winds followed soon after.
Both the waterspout and the solar halo were the result of the coming together of warm and cold fronts off the Mexican coast.
A local city hall advised residents that, while it might look terrifying, sea spouts are not as intense as their land-based tornado cousins, adding that no damage had been reported.
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