The waterspouts on Lake Michigan last Sunday bring to mind a famous waterspout that occurred in Hawaii in January 1971.  The overall storm system unleashed four tornadoes, including a large waterspout on Kona Bay (on the leeward side of the Big Island) that became a strong tornado when it hit land.  Normally tranquil Kona bay was transformed into a war zone. The storm unleashed a waterspout towering 800 feet high. It tore across the bay with winds of more than 100 miles an hour. It made landfall becoming a full-fledged tornado.  The strength of the winds tossed debris hundreds of feet in to the air. The twister easily tore down the six-story steel structure of the Hukilau hotel. Amazingly, only one woman was hurt. When the storm was finished, it left behind millions of dollars in damages.

The storm unleased a total of four tornados that day.  One tornado hit Whitmore Village just after midnight, residents awoke to find 21 homes damaged or destroyed.The strong winds moved one home eight feet off it’s foundation.  The storm then took aim at Maui. It dumped torrential rain causing flash flooding. Several cars in Kihei didn’t stand a chance. The force of the flooding washed out a parking lot pushing the cars into a ten foot pit. (pictures from KHNL)