Yes
Yes
Yes. Waterspouts are not uncommon on the Great Lakes during late summer, especially on Lake Erie, the warmest of the lakes.
Yes
Waterspouts in the U.S. are most common around the Florida Keys and other waters near Florida. They are also not an uncommon sight on the Great Lakes.
Waterspouts can form on small lakes, not just oceans.
Waterspouts
No, they can form over water. At that point it is called a tornadic waterspout.
Waterspouts occur when a tornado develops over water or moves to water after forming on land. The three types of waterspout are tornadic, non-tornadic and snowspout.
Waterspouts most often occur when a relatively cool air mass moves over a warm body of water, resulting in instability. A bit of turbulence near the surface can then give the spin necessary to get waterspouts started.
Waterspouts typically occur when thunderstorms or sometimes towering cumulus form over water that is warmer than the air above it.
Most lakes are too small for the effect to be great or, if any at all. Tides are not always caused by the gravitational pull pf the moon and have no effect on small bodies of water, such as lakes. Even the Great Lakes tides are less than 5 centimeters in height
The Great Lakes