A rare tornado phenomenon over Hawaii’s Kilauea Crater is captured by a cameraman from a helicopter.
Video composer Mick Kalber saw a column of smoke rise nearly a hundred meters above the rift east of the Kilauea volcano, as he flew a helicopter on early March 29, according to Newsweek. The funnel-shaped column of smoke is a land tornado, a small tornado that is not associated with the flow of warm, humid air rotating in a thunderstorm like a normal tornado.
Waterspouts are relatively weak, last only a few minutes, and tend to spin slower than a regular tornado, but can still cause damage to people and property. They usually form from the ground up and rise above the clouds.
“We saw a paperclip tornado in the sea, a lot of lava is falling quickly into the water, creating the same phenomenon. It will spin clockwise and sometimes separate from the eddies, but we don’t. have never had before. Now we have this kind of tornado on earth, “says Kalber.
Kalber, who has recorded Kilauea volcano for many years, said strong winds, high humidity and heavy rain pouring over volcanic lava create the perfect conditions for the tornado to form. Rainwater from heavy downpours was more likely to seep into crevices in lava fields, causing steam to rise and spin due to weather conditions.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with at least 34 eruptions since 1952. The East Rift Zone has been continuously subject to volcanic activity since 1983.
