landspout

meteorology

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

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A landspout is a meteorological phenomenon similar to a waterspout but occurring over land. It is a column of violently rotating air that develops within a convective cloud and makes contact with the ground. Landspouts are closely related to tornadoes and whirlwinds. While they share similarities with weak tornadoes, their rotation is typically confined to the lower atmosphere, below cloud base.123

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waterspout
…some of which are called landspouts because of this similarity. The rotation occurs at low levels in the atmosphere, so the resulting vortex does not extend very far up into the cloud. Indeed, the rotation is not often detectable by radar, another indication that waterspouts are a phenomenon largely confined…
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…some of which are called landspouts because of this similarity. The rotation occurs at low levels in the atmosphere, so the resulting vortex does not extend very far up into the cloud. Indeed, the rotation is not often detectable by radar, another indication that waterspouts are a phenomenon largely confined…
Read More