The baker guy who comes to buy my eggs told me today when he came up that he'd just seen 3 waterspouts off the coast of Dong He. Although waterspouts do happen here, i am slightly skeptical. There were these thin columns of rain happening out to sea and i wonder if he may have mistaken them for water twisters. Anyone see anything out there today? The time was around 5-5.30pm.

I was at the beach that afternoon and saw no waterspouts. It was very dark north of Jinzun though.

they do happen here - and can happen in twos or threes - my main emotion when he told me was to be mightily pissed off that i hadn't seen them. But as you didn't see anything as well and you were actually on the beach, then i am starting to think it was just those slender colums of rain out to see, which were quite beautiful in their own right, but not still not waterspouts.

What kind of conditions to they occur in, do you know? Do they happen in a calm wind, but stormy environment, or when there is other wind already around? It was pretty calm that day, but the skies did look dark and threatening and there was lightning about.