Electric Waterspouts
Russian plasma physicist V. A. Rantsev-Kartinov studied waterspouts from a plasma point of view. He came to understand the waterspout as a long-lasting discharge current between the plasma networks of the ocean surface (or lake surface) and the electrical charge of the clouds above.
http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2005/arch05/050323waterspouts.htm
Fascinating Video - volcano, lightning and waterspout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3aqFCT87_E