A video surfaced showing two deputies with the Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office driving by a massive waterspout while patrolling a lake in southern Louisiana on July 4. In the five-second video, one of the deputies holds the camera so you can see the waterspout way off in the background. It looks almost like something you'd see in a video game. And then he turns the camera and smiles.
The caption reads: "Deputy Jordan Salles and Deputy Chris Yoli of our Marine Division dodging waterspouts in the Madisonville area on this 4th of July." During filming, they were patrolling the north end of Lake Pontchartrain. For reference, New Orleans is located on the other southern end of the lake.
In the comments, people made plenty of heartfelt and comedic jokes, such as "did it have sharks in it?" and "Whole bunch of NOPE right there." Both are equally hilarious. Whereas others were sarcastically critical of the sworn officer's use of a cell phone while controlling a motorized vehicle.
However, one person verified the existence of the waterspout. She said: "We were on the (causeway) and saw the boat and were like, (oh my god) the boat is going towards it, we were concerned..glad yall were safe."
What is a waterspout?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a waterspout is a whirling column of air and water mist. "They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning," NOAA said.
And there are two kinds. The first is a fair weather waterspout and the other is a tornadic waterspout. NOAA explained that the former forms along the dark flat base of a line of developing cumulus clouds. And generally not associated with thunderstorms. On the other hand, a tornadic waterspout develops downward in a thunderstorm.
NOAA added that if a waterspout moves to land, the National Weather Service will issue a tornado warning. "Some of them can cause significant damage and injuries to people," NOAA said. "Typically, fair weather waterspouts dissipate rapidly when they make landfall, and rarely penetrate far inland."
