Susan Horvath, age 10 of PA for her question;

What is a waterspout?

Tornadoes are the fiercest storms in the world. They rip across our southwestern and midwestern states, Where they strike the ground they leave behind a path of total destruction. Maybe a hundred of them strike America each year, most of them in the summer months...

A water spout is really a sea‑going tornado. Like a tornado, it is a circle of furious winds. The center is a column of fast rising air. The winds spiral inwards from the rim. Near the center they switch acid rush upwards.

Objects small and large are swept along by the furious winds. The land tornado carries dirt and debris. People see it coming as a tall waving column of dust. The sea tornado pulls up a column of water. First the winds whip the sea into waves. Then they slice off the tops and spray. Drops of water are drawn into the rising storm center and carried aloft. A spout of water seems to rise from the sea.