Waterspout surprises Lisbon drivers as Storm Nelson lashes Iberia

A waterspout at the mouth of the Tagus River caught drivers on the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon by surprise on Thursday. This phenomenon is related to Storm Nelson, which has hit the Iberian Peninsula.

On Thursday afternoon, drivers on the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal, encountered an extraordinary weather event, later confirmed to be a waterspout by local media. Meteorologist Pedro Sousa from the Portuguese Institute for the Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA), who took photographs of this occurrence, confirmed this. The vortex moved towards the land and affected some buildings in Montijo.

The footage captured shows a spiralling column of mist and aerosol ascending over the bridge, the second longest in Europe.

While tornadoes are rare in Europe, they occasionally strike the northwestern and southern regions of the continent. Waterspouts, their aquatic counterparts, form over water bodies.

The storm, dubbed Nelson, has brought the Iberian Peninsula heavy rain, fierce winds, larger waves, and the aforementioned waterspout. In Spain, its impact has been devastating, resulting in the loss of four lives. In Seville, the renowned Holy Week processions, a magnet for thousands globally every year, were called off due to the downpour, as were other lesser-known events in Huelva and Cadiz.

The risk remains high, with the adverse weather expected to persist until Easter.

Source: La Vanguardia, TVN24