Video: Impressive sea ‘waterspout’ spotted near coast in Brittany

Violent storms this weekend caused serious damage in France, as well as the death of at least one swimmer in the Mediterranean. 

Read more: Sea swimmer drowns as violent storms hit southern France 

In Brittany, however, the storms also provided a view of a rare phenomena in the form of a sea tornado or waterspout (trombe marine). 

These are formed during unstable weather conditions (usually storms), when wind patterns abruptly shift over a body of water, causing a vortex to appear.

The spout that formed on Saturday (September 7), reaching several metres in height, appeared around 16:40 near Quiberon (Morbihan), on the region’s Atlantic coastline. 

It moved along the coastline for several kilometres, however nobody was injured, nor was any damage recorded.

A nearby triathlon event had finished just before the waterspout formed.

Social media posts of the sea waterspout can be seen below. 

Although rare, a sea waterspout was seen in Brittany in 2022 after storms in the area. 

Read more: Watch: Large ‘waterspout tornado’ off coast of Brittany