Waterspout tornado forms off the coast of Malaysia

This is the spectacular moment a tall waterspout formed off the coast of Johor, Malaysia, on May 4.

This is the spectacular moment a tall waterspout formed off the coast of Johor, Malaysia, on May 4.

Onlooker Zall Lanun watched the narrow elephant trunk-shaped twister stretching from the clouds into the ocean outside his home.

A cloud of mist could be seen rotating at the water’s surface.

He said: ‘It was amazing and scary at the same time because I was worried it could cause damage.

This was my first time seeing this kind of tornado.’ The waterspout tornado lasted for around five minutes before it faded away.

Fair weather waterspouts like that seen in the video are most commonly found in subtropical areas and usually disappear shortly after they come into contact with land.

They form when winds merge from opposite directions near the water’s surface, creating a small area of spin.

Sudden warm air at the surface causes the spinning air to rotate faster and it starts to rise – picking up water at the same time.

Sometimes the air spins so fast that it stretches and a funnel appears from the water to the thunderstorm cloud above.