Water spout menaces second NSW north coast town of Broken Head after Lennox Head twister

A SECOND community has been menaced by a water spout, after a twister ripped in from the sea this morning and devastated the northern NSW town of Lennox Head.

The water spout off Broken Head, northern NSW, as snapped by local resident Vicki Smith.

A SECOND community has been menaced by a water spout, after a twister ripped in from the sea this morning and devastated the northern NSW holiday town of Lennox Head.

The storm cell that unleashed the mini-tornado on the beachside hamlet of about 3000 permanent residents, about 210km south of Brisbane, pushed along the coast to generate a giant spout outside Byron Bay.

Coopers Shoot Road resident Vicki Smith snapped dramatic photographs of the spout, which was more than 150m across at its base.

The funnel formed off Broken Head at about 8.05am, 35 minutes after Lennox Head was hit by the twister that unroofed homes, flipped caravans and brought chaos to the town.

Locals were unsure whether it was the same storm that hit Lennox Head or a separate twister.

Fortunately, the spout off Broken Head remained anchored in the sea.

“I've lived here a long time and it's the biggest spout I've seen by far,” Ms Smith said. “It was just off the beach, but stayed in the water.”