Waterspouts observed in the Mediterranean, near Sicily, on the 27th of June, 1827. In, "Physical Geography" by Arnold Henry Guyot, 1873. A waterspout is a tornado occurring over water that forms a column of water and mist extending between the surface and the clouds above. Waterspouts have a five-part life cycle: formation of a dark spot on the water surface, spiral pattern on the water surface, formation of a spray ring, development of the visible condensation funnel, and ultimately decay.