[VIDEOS] Waterspout Near The Penang Bridge Looks Just Like A Mini 'Tornado'

Excited eyewitnesses quickly took videos and photographs of the rare occurrence and uploaded them on social media.

Needless to say, fascinated netizens quickly shared those videos and photographs and they immediately went viral.

In the video above that was also circulating on WhatsApp, a man can be heard excitedly explaining the phenomenon in Hokkien and English.

However, it is noted that drivers shouldn’t wait nor stop on the bridge deliberately to take photographs as this puts themselves and others at risk.

"Under no circumstances bridge users are allowed to stop on the bridge and this is made known through various signages installed on the bridge," PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) said in a statement earlier in January.

To put it simply, the waterspout is a column of rotating air that forms over water. There are two main types of waterspouts, namely tornadic waterspouts and fair-weather waterspouts.

"Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning," US' National Ocean Service (NOS) explained.

On the other hand, fair weather waterspouts, which form only over open water, are much more common than the tornadic waterspouts. They are usually small, relatively brief, and less dangerous.

Incidents of waterspouts were recorded in different parts of the Pearl of the Orient in the last few years.

The Star Online reported that two waterspouts were spotted in Kampung Perlis and Pulau Betong last November.

Two years ago, on November 2015, waterspouts were also spotted in the North Channel and the coast of Butterworth.