Waterspout skips through town
BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Waterspout! A waterspout churns through Gulf waters just off Port Aransas on Saturday, Sept. 29. This photo was snapped by Tracey Gutierrez as she stood on the deck of her house at Avenue C and 12th Street. The Dunes condominiums are visible directly in front of the waterspout.

Most waterspouts seen off the coast of Port Aransas are distant little funnels that quickly fade away, posing little threat to anyone in town.

Not so on Saturday, Sept. 29. Around noon that day, a thunderstorm approaching from the Gulf of Mexico spawned a towering waterspout that hopped, skipped and jumped through Port Aransas waters and may have even made landfall in town before making its way to Aransas Pass.

The waterspout apparently did little damage in Port Aransas. But it knocked down a brick wall, broke some windows and uprooted several 100-year-old oak trees in Aransas Pass, police said. No injuries were reported in either town.

In Port Aransas, Jody Foshee said she was eating brunch at Zama's Dangerous Kitchen on Beach Street when she saw the waterspout approaching from the Gulf.

"It was the biggest one I ever saw," she said. "It went from the top of the cloud ceiling all the way down. It was very wide and well-defined. … When it hit the beach, you could see things flying over the dunes - sand and debris coming up very high."

The waterspout churned toward Harbor Island.

Jackie Linn was driving along State Hwy. 361 on Harbor Island, heading toward Aransas Pass, when she spotted the breathtaking column of water less than 100 yards away.

"I look up to my right, over the water, and sure enough, I see a giant tornado," said Linn, of Port Aransas. "It was huge."

Linn and nearby motorists slowed to a crawl as they watched the beast.

"It was skipping around, and I just couldn't take my eyes off it," she said. "It was long and thin and up to the sky, and menacing."

The waterspout was spotted at Dale Miller Bridge about 12:30, said Darrell Jones, chief of the Aransas Pass Police Department.

As it moved ashore, the funnel ripped shingles from at least one roof, knocked down a wood privacy fence and knocked down a brick wall in the building housing Dollar General store on Commercial Street, Jones said.

High wind also ripped a large air conditioning unit from the top of the store, said Lisa Barker of Aransas Property Management, the firm that manages the building. A gust also overturned a stationary 18-wheeler's boxcar full of tires.

Shortly after the waterspout passed over the Harbor Island area, Tootie Barnes of Port Aransas was driving along State Hwy. 361 when she saw an upside-down boat floating in Morris and Cummings Cut, about 35 yards from the bridge.

Two men were standing on top of the approximately 22-foot vessel, and two others were treading water near it. The men on top of the boat were waving shirts in the air, plainly trying to signal for help.

Barnes tried to dial 911 on her cell phone, but couldn't get through. She called her daughter and sister, who in turn called for help. Barnes stayed until police and the Coast Guard showed up to rescue the men.

"It was crazy," Barnes said. "It was raining so hard. I'm just glad I was able to see them."