Rare waterspouts seen off Shandong province

Several waterspouts were seen on the sea near Rongcheng, a coastal county-level city of Weihai, East China's Shandong province, on Tuesday morning.

Videos posted online show several waterspouts moving on the sea from south to north, where they weakened to sprays when they approached the coastline. People can be heard in the videos saying, "They (waterspouts) look like dragons sucking water. It's awesome."

Waterspouts are usually produced by a swiftly growing cumulus cloud. They come in many shapes and often occur in a series, called a waterspout family. Waterspouts are closely related to other atmospheric phenomena, such as tornadoes and whirlwinds.