Residents watched several water spouts in and near Charlotte Amalie Harbor Wednesday afternoon, one of which witnesses say touched down briefly before dissipating.
Modesto Vasquez of the National Weather Service in San Juan said a Weather Service employee happened to be in the FAA tower at Cyril King Airport and reported seeing waterspouts about 3 p.m. "A pilot called in too," Vasquez said. "He spotted a funnel cloud about four miles southeast of the airport." That report came at 3:50 p.m.
Some residents said they saw three waterspouts, some saw four.
Cory Lunn, the captain of a dive boat, watched the phenomenon along with a small crowd of people at Crown Bay Marina.
The major one "was definitely one of the largest and the best formed" he has ever seen. He said he has seen spout in Florida, the Bahamas and in the open ocean.
"It was nearly vertical and completely symmetrical when I first saw it," he said. "I could see a debris cloud around the base."
That was when it appeared to come from behind Hassel Island. "It looked like the debris was from Hassel Island," Lunn said.
"At one time I could see four" waterspouts, he said. Besides the big one there were "two close together and one farther to the southwest." But the smaller ones "all dissipated before they touched down."
Jane Immel also watched from Crown Bay, but "I only saw the one that came down,"
She said it came between Hassel Island and Water Island, moving east to west, and hit the water in East Gregorie Channel. "You could see the water go up. It was stirring up the water when it came in there. I've never seen one quite that close,"
Lunn said "it looked like it was headed right for downtown."
Other witnesses said it lifted just before it reached Frenchtown.
Vasquez said the Weather Service was not surprised by the reports. A check of the radar Wednesday morning had convinced them that conditions were ripe for funnels, or waterspouts which he described as weak tornadoes. They often accompanying showers or especially thunderstorms and tend to form as warmer air near the surface meets cooler air above the water.
