Rare tornado clouds observed over the UK

Residents of County Durham, UK, were stunned by the appearance of a rare "tornado"in the sky. The funnel-shaped cloud appeared just after noon on Friday, and people rushed to take photos and videos to share them on social networks, iNews reports.

Even more funnel-shaped clouds were observed throughout the region on the eve of thunderstorms. Eyewitnesses noted that they had seen something like this for the first time.

A few hours later, funnel clouds were also seen in Suffolk and Kent.And on Thursday afternoon, residents of Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Essex also reported seeing funnel clouds.

The UK Meteorological Office explained the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado. So, a funnel cloud does not reach the surface of the earth, it becomes a tornado only if it reaches land.

"A funnel cloud is a cone-shaped cloud that extends from the base of the cloud to the ground, without actually reaching the surface. They often look like thin ropes hanging from the cloud at the top, " the experts noted.