Wild weather: Waterspout and landspout spotted at the Jersey Shore Tuesday

Across most of New Jersey, Tuesday was a quiet, incredibly pleasant day. Driven by low humidity, plentiful sunshine, and temperatures about five degrees below seasonal normals, there was a hint of "September" in the air.

Brewing just off-shore was a weak disturbance, which was forecast to spit a few spotty showers toward New Jersey's coastline throughout the day.

One batch of isolated showers was particularly potent, driving tiny pockets of heavy rain southward along the coast from Belmar to Atlantic City, between about 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday.

That storm cell was also responsible for a rare and unbelievable sight for some Jersey Shore residents — a narrow cloud-like rope connecting the sky to the sea. Yes, numerous waterspouts were spotted over the ocean and bay.

The most dramatic stories, photos, and video came from Island Beach State Park, where a waterspout apparently came on-shore as a full-fledged landspout, near IBSP beach access 18. It spun around on the sand for a minute before dissipating over the dunes. The video shared by the National Weather Service is amazing!

A landspout is a special type of tornado, a narrow rotating column of air that connects a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. It differs from a "traditional" tornado in that it does not form in conjunction with a mesocyclone — that is a rotating wall cloud, or lowering under the main cumulonimbus cloud. Waterspouts and landspouts are almost always weak and brief, and rarely cause significant concern or damage.

That was the case here. No damage or injuries were reported. Given the nature of the storm — as an isolated waterspout, with no mesocyclone and no strong winds reported — no tornado warnings were issued.

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It is yet another bullet point in this wild weather month. For the record, this was the only tornado reported in the United States on Tuesday.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Check out Dan's weather blog or follow him on Facebook for your latest weather forecast updates.