Early risers witnessed a rare weather phenomena Tuesday, August 4, when several waterspouts appeared over Lake Chapala.
The spectacle known in Spanish as a tromba marina is a type of tornado that picks up water as it moves over the surface of a body of water. If the cloud picks up enough momentum it may travel inland and release the water as it collides with the neighboring mountains, sometimes provoking landslides on the terrain below.
The local populace commonly refers to a waterspout as a culebra de agua (water snake) due to its peculiar shape. Farm folk may follow a long-held custom of raising machetes to slice through the air to break up the serpent before it strikes land with devastating effect.