• A waterspout formed over Lake Constance on the borders of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with wind speeds estimated between 100 and 150 kilometers per hour.
• The waterspout was visible for around 15 minutes and moved in the direction of Lindau in Bavaria, with no reported damage or emergencies.
• Meteorologist Kai-Uwe Nerding warned that more waterspouts could form during the afternoon and explained that the rotation in the atmosphere, combined with a thunderstorm, led to the formation of the waterspout.

A waterspout formed over Lake Constance on the borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and could be seen for around 15 minutes on Wednesday, the German Weather Service reported.

DVD meteorologist Kai-Uwe Nerding said that the wind speed was difficult to estimate, but he assumed speeds of between 100 and 150 kilometres per hour. He was unable to estimate the height and diameter of the waterspout.

After passing over the lake it went in the direction of Lindau in Bavaria on the north-eastern shore.

No damage was reported, and police said there were no reports of emergencies on the lake. Nerding warned that more waterspouts could form during the afternoon.

According to the meteorologist, waterspouts are relatively common on Lake Constance, but this one was special in being readily visible from the shore. He said that the thunderstorm that created the waterspout had eased.

"In the atmosphere, we have rotation in the lowest levels, and this rotation, in combination with the thunderstorm and its updraughts, led to the formation of a waterspout," Nerding said.

He added that weather phenomena like this caused tornados over land that could blow off roofs and blow down trees.