Witnesses were left shocked as a huge waterspout, which is a type of tornado, was spotted along the British coast.
The large twister was seen over the sea near Bembridge on the Isle of Wight at around 10:20am today (August 26) as stunned eyewitnesses shared dramatic footage of the rare weather phenomenon on social media.
The Met Office also shared the impressive twister on X, formerly Twitter, as the weather service warned residents of downpours and thunderous storms this weekend.
The waterspout emerged from a rapidly developing thunderstorm that swept through the region.
A waterspout is a meteorological phenomenon characterised by a column of rotating, cloud-filled air over a body of water, such as a lake, river, or ocean.
It’s essentially a tornado that forms over water rather than on land.
Waterspouts are typically associated with convective weather conditions, often occurring in areas where warm, moist air rises and encounters cooler air.
The dramatic sighting comes as large swathes of the country battled thunderous weather conditions all day.
While rain is still expected for most for the rest of this bank holiday weekend, Sunday may be slightly brighter for some.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Steven Keates said: “While showers are never too far away through the weekend, there will still be drier spells around and where there are breaks in the cloud on Sunday in the south it should feel quite pleasant.
“Areas to the southeast will see fewer showers with more in the way of bright or sunny spells on Saturday and Sunday, though temperatures are likely to remain around average for the time of year.
“Areas further north and west will see more frequent showers, some of which will be heavy, and will at times extend south into central areas of England and Wales on Saturday and Sunday.
“Monday, which is a Bank Holiday for those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will probably see band of showery rain clear from eastern England early in the day, with sunny spells and scattered showers following on for most places.
“There are no signals for significant heat in the current forecast period.”
