Waterspouts seen in Eastern Canada

Tornadoes on water are being reported more often this year

- MORGAN LOWRIE

Two waterspouts are seen near Îles-de-la- Madeleine, Que., last week. The Northern Tornadoes Project has confirmed several this month in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Marc-André Bourgeois-Gaudet was in his boat off the shores of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., last Friday when he saw several funnel clouds descending from the sky like tornadoes.

As he got closer, the rain started falling harder than anything he’d ever experienced, he said. “It was like having a waterfall fall on my head.”

The Northern Tornadoes Project, based at Western University, has confirmed that a number of waterspouts — also known as tornadoes over water — occurred in recent days in Quebec and Nova Scotia.