A strong storm moved over Fernandina Beach and Nassau County on Sunday, causing flooding and reported waterspouts.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A powerful storm swept through Fernandina Beach and Cumberland Island on Sunday afternoon, resulting in heavy rain and multiple waterspouts just off the shoreline.
Around noon, Melissa Freeman, a First Coast News Weather Watcher, observed one of the waterspouts while looking north from Fort Clinch. Although the National Weather Service had issued a warning for potential waterspouts in the region at that time, no damage was reported.
The storm caused substantial rainfall in Fernandina Beach, leading police to close several roads, including sections of South 3rd, Gum, and Elm streets. Near Gum Street on South 3rd, a vehicle was nearly submerged in the floodwaters. Reports of over 4 inches of rain were noted west of Fernandina, near Yulee, within about an hour.
Waterspouts are essentially tornadoes that occur over water. They usually form when warm, moist air at the surface quickly rises into cooler air above, creating a rotating column of winds. The difference between the warm ocean surface and unstable atmospheric conditions supplies the energy required to create the funnel, which can quickly form during intense thunderstorms.
Having two waterspouts side by side is not unheard of, but it is a rare sight to capture.
