Water spouts, according to NOAA, the National Ocean are "tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning."

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Saturday afternoon at about 2:30pm, a water spout over Barnegat Bay in Ocean County began trending on social media, with photos and video popping up all over the web. We've share some of them here for you.

The Seaside Park Volunteer Fire Company said on Twitter that the spout was spotted between Toms River and Seaside Heights, north of the Route 37 bridge.

The weather service issued a special marine warning for the coastal waters from Manasquan inlet to Little Egg inlet and advised boats to seek harbor immediately. Waterspouts can create hazardous seas and can easily overturn boats, the service said.

 

New 12 New Jersey shared a photo on Twitter of the water spout , as seen from Tom's River...

The YouTube channel Wild weather compiled several videos of the water spout...

Here's some more on waterspouts, according to National Geographic

Despite its name, a waterspout is not filled with water from the ocean or lake. A waterspout descends from a cumulus cloud. It does not "spout" from the water. The water inside a waterspout is formed by condensation in the cloud.

There are two major types of waterspouts: tornadic waterspouts and fair-weather waterspouts.

Tornadic waterspouts get their start as true tornadoes. Influenced by winds associated with severe thunderstorms, air rises and rotates on a vertical axis. Tornadic waterspouts are the most powerful and destructive type of waterspout.

Fair-weather waterspouts, however, are much more common. Fair-weather waterspouts are rarely dangerous. The clouds from which they descend are not fast-moving, so fair-weather waterspouts are often static. Fair-weather waterspouts are associated with developing storm systems, but not storms themselves.

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LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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