Excited Residents Watch Tornado Storm In Alor's Kalabahi Waters, This Is BMKG's Explanation

NTT - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that there were no tornadoes that occurred in the waters of Kalabahi, Alor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province (NTT).

This information is to refute the viral video that is widely circulated on social media. In the video, residents can be seen watching from a distance the occurrence of a tornado in the waters of Kalabahi.

"No tornadoes have occurred in Alor waters as circulated on social media," said the Acting Head of the BMKG Meteorological Class III Mali station, Alor Regency, Erwin Andrew Karipui when contacted by Antara, Kupang, Wednesday, November 10.

The natural phenomenon of strong winds spinning like a trunk has occurred in Alor Regency on October 27, 2021. The incident occurred in the waters around Matap, Wolwal, Southwest Alor District, Alor Regency.

This phenomenon, according to Erwin, is known as a waterspout which is identical to the tornado phenomenon but occurs above a large surface of water formed from the cumulonimbus (CB) cloud system.

"However, not all cumulonimbus clouds can cause this phenomenon, depending on atmospheric lability conditions," said Erwin.

He added that the presence of CB clouds can also indicate the potential for heavy rain which can be accompanied by lightning or lightning and strong winds and under certain conditions can cause a potential tornado or waterspout.

"The waterspout event is a rare event but is also included in the category of extreme weather because it describes a supercell storm at the micro-space scale (only around tens of meters) but does not last long and it is very unlikely that the waterspout will move to land," he said.

"Today, there is no tornado in Alor. We need to remind you that during the transitional season like today, natural phenomena such as hurricanes can happen, so all residents have to be aware. People should not approach if there is such a natural phenomenon because it is dangerous. ," said Erwin Andrew Karipui.