Dramatic video from the Italian island of Capri is turning heads online, showing two large waterspouts forming at the same time in front of the famous Faraglioni rocks. The twisting columns appear to drop from dark, stormy clouds toward the sea, creating a moody scene around one of Italy's best-known landmarks. The Faraglioni are three towering sea stacks just off the island's coast, shaped over time by wind, rain, and waves, which makes the backdrop even more striking. Footage of the double waterspout spread quickly over the weekend, with viewers calling the sight spectacular.

Waterspouts like these form when warm Mediterranean seawater meets cooler air, causing moist air to rise rapidly and stretch into a rotating vortex that links the sea surface to the clouds above. They are relatively common over the Mediterranean in late summer and autumn, but seeing two develop side by side in front of such a recognizable landmark is far less usual, which helps explain why the clip is spreading so widely. The sight raises plenty of questions, including how dangerous waterspouts can be for boats near the coast, why they seem to appear in clusters, and whether more may form as the season's weather continues to shift.