Rare waterspout appeared near Bao’an District in Shenzhen, around 6:30 am on August 12th, marking the third occurrence in nearly a decade.
According to “Shenzhen Weather” reports, in recent days, due to the weakening of subtropical high pressure, the weather became unstable. Under high temperature and humidity conditions, strong rainfall engulfed the entire city of Shenzhen from early morning to dawn on August 12th, with a rare waterspout appearing around 6:30 am.
Waterspouts, commonly known as “dragon sucking water” or “dragon hanging water,” occasionally manifest as tornadoes over warm water surfaces. With its upper end connected to thunderstorms and rotating rapidly while moving, the columnar shape of a waterspout, filled with moisture, is equally as dangerous as tornadoes, with internal wind speeds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour.
Although waterspouts are rare, this isn’t the first sighting near Shenzhen’s offshore areas. Records show that in the past decade, there have been two previous instances of waterspouts in the waters near Shenzhen: occurring on May 11, 2015, and June 26, 2018.
Local internet users remarked, “The thunder was so scary this morning, incessant thunderbolts.” “Saw it at Fuhai Toll Station, quite impressive.” Some netizens speculated, “The dragon sucking water, might mean another major flood is approaching!”
As per weather reports, in the early hours of today, Typhoon Anbi became the seventh named storm of the year. As of 8 am today (August 13), it was located approximately 1200 kilometers south of Tokyo, Japan, moving northeastward at around 10 kilometers per hour. It is expected to gradually intensify and shift towards a more northward trajectory around the 14th, without impacting China’s coastal areas, but bringing heavy rains.
According to the Shenzhen weather forecast, thunderstorms will persist this week. From the 13th to the 14th, there will be mostly cloudy skies with intermittent showers, local heavy rains, and short-term gusts of about 8 on the Beaufort scale. Between the 15th and 19th, thunderstorms will be frequent, and rainfall is expected to intensify further.