Fully- and partly-formed waterspouts snapped off the Finnish archipelago on Monday.
© Merivartiosto - LSMV / Social MediaFully- and partly-formed waterspouts snapped off the Finnish archipelago on Monday.
Spectacular waterspouts have been snapped on both sides of the Gulf of Finland during the stormy conditions of recent days.

Over the weekend, Madis Rehepapp, who is a member of the sea rescue association on the Estonian island of Muhu, spotted and photographed a waterspout at sea as he sat on his terrace at home, regional, Postimees-owned daily Saarte Hääl reports (link in Estonian). The phenomenon lasted 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

Meanwhile one person who was on the sea during the rough conditions over the weekend said that they had not experienced anything like it.



Enn Meri, who was sailing his yacht on the Väinamere, the straits that separate the western archipelago from the mainland, between Kuresaare, the capital of Saaremaa, and the town of Haapsalu, told Saarte Hääl that he had: "Never experienced a storm of this kind while at sea. The strong winds lasted for about half an hour."

Meanwhile off the adjacent coast of Finland, as many as seven simultaneous waterspouts were observed Monday (see cover image), that country's coastguard said, as reported by public broadcaster Yle.