A rare tornado-like weather phenomenon that tore roofs from homes and brought down trees in Malaysia is expected to stir up waters off Australia’s east coast in coming months.

Autumn and winter will see the onset of the spectacular weather event forming over waters off Queensland and New South Wales.

But Australians are being told not to be alarmed, as meteorologists believe the funnels would be unlikely to hit land – unlike the one that wowed residents in Penang this week.

On Tuesday (Australian time), a colossal waterspout was captured spinning off the coast of the state in the country’s north-west for about five minutes, before briefly tearing through the town of Tanjung Tokong.

Penang today. Waterspout pic.twitter.com/fmvtqN7JGD

— Iruma Kun~~~~ (@SyafiqKP) April 1, 2019

At least 50 homes were lashed with damaging wind gusts that tore metal sheets off roofs and downed trees, but there were no reports of injuries.

Resident Nona Khalid, 75, recounted seeing the waterspout approach her house as she waited for her grandchildren to return home from school.

“The sound of the wind was deafening and I saw part of the roof of my house being flown away by the wind … indeed it was very scary and took place for the first time in the 50 years I have been staying here,” she told local media.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore told The New Daily that the public could rest assured that the same would not happen in Australia, because the waterspout would likely not make landfall.

Australia typically witnesses a number of waterspouts off Australia’s east coast every year, Mr Narramore said.

They are usually relatively small, very weak and stay offshore, where they can last up to 15 minutes, he said.

If on the rare occasion a waterspout does make landfall, it tends to dissipate after five to 10 minutes.

“Normally, every year you’ll see reports of waterspouts anywhere from Mackay (in Queensland) all the way down to Merimbula (in NSW),” Mr Narramore said.

Waterspout: What’s the fuss about?

A waterspout is a violently rotating column of air that develops over a warm body of water and is usually short-lived.

They can cause boats to turn upside down and suck all kinds of marine life to the ocean’s surface, Mr Narramore said.

CSIRO research scientist Dr Hamish Ramsay said waterspouts are most likely to form from spring until autumn.

“Unfortunately, we do not have very accurate records of historical waterspouts in Australia to get an overall picture of their frequency, although most of them have been documented off the coasts of Queensland and New South Wales, in the sub-tropics,” Dr Ramsay said.

On June 3, 2010, the NSW north coast town of Lennox Head was menaced by a waterspout that destroyed up to 100 homes and caused multiple injuries.

Another massive waterspout, which is believed to have been two kilometres wide, formed off the coast of Batemans Bay in NSW in November 2012, whirling through the water for about 15 minutes and attracting hundreds of onlookers.

Dr Ramsay said the potential destruction of a waterspout depends on the type of cloud it is spawned from.

Unlike a tornado, a waterspout can form when there is no thunderstorm. They are generally weaker and dissipate faster than tornadoes spawned from severe thunderstorms over land, Dr Ramsay said.

“Occasionally, however, large and violent waterspouts can form as a result of severe ‘supercell’ thunderstorms over water, and are often accompanied by large hail, heavy rain and damaging wind gusts,” he said.

“Waterspouts generated from growing cumulus clouds offshore generally cause minor damage, whereas waterspouts spawned from supercell thunderstorms are much more dangerous and have the potential to cause significant damage.”