An eight-foot-wide whirlpool in an American lake is so powerful, it could suck up a full-sized boat, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The vortex recently appeared in Lake Texoma, a reservoir located along the border of Oklahoma and Texas.
A video posted by the U.S. Army Corps provides a spectacular aerial view of vortex in action, which looks as if it’s something straight from a sci-fi film.
And yet the vortex isn’t the result of some looming alien-takeover, but rather, a very simple explanation.
In an interview with Business Insider, assistant lake manager BJ Parkey, described the phenomenon as “just like in your house when you fill a bathtub full of water and [open] the drain, it will develop a vortex or whirlpool.”
Basically, when the water level in Lake Texoma gets too high, Army Corps opens the floodgates, or the “sluices,” at the bottom of the lake. This water then flows into a nearby river, an effect that creates the hydro tornado. This summer, the area has experienced higher than normal rainfall, which resulted in intense flooding.
While the vortex is in effect, the Army Corps have blocked off the area with safety buoys and caution signs.
Despite the murky colour of the waters, Lake Texoma is a popular destination for water skiing, windsurfing and sailing.
