THIS is the dramatic moment drivers spotted a “mini tornado” sweeping over a motorway.
The footage was captured by a passenger just after 4pm on Sunday as heavy downpours battered Luton, Bedfordshire.
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Motorists looked on in shock as a thick cloud appeared to spin above their heads during the swirling storm.
Another video filmed near Dunstable Road appeared to show debris – including a trampoline – being thrown high into the air.
Gusts of wind also sent objects from a washing line to roof tiles across the sky.
The Met Office could not confirm if the formation in the clips was a tornado as there was “no evidence of the system touching the ground”.
If the system did not touch the ground it is a funnel cloud, the forecaster added.
It comes just days after another tornado swept through Aldershot causing damage to properties and felling trees.
No-one was hurt in the weather event in the Hampshire town which happened at 12pm on Friday, according to the local council.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (Torro) said that it had tracked the length of the movement of the tornado to be 2km long.
The organisation’s investigator posted on Twitter that they had given the tornado a preliminary T1 or T2 rating which would rate it as a light or mild tornado.
Parts of Britain have been struck by flash floods after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
Heavy rainfall has seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.
As of 11.45am, 17 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were issued for England by the Environment Agency.
Areas affected by the flood warnings include Childswickham in Worcestershire, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and parts of London including South Ruislip.
National Highways confirmed the A421 in Bedfordshire was closed in both directions between A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine due to flooding.
Bedfordshire Police said it had closed off part of Dunstable High Street due to “substantial flooding”,
Footage shared on social media showing cars battling high water around the Saracen’s Head pub.
Some schools in Bedfordshire have also closed, with an update on Central Bedfordshire Council’s website citing water ingress/flooding as being the reason for the closure.
What are funnel clouds?
FUNNEL clouds or ‘tuba’ are extending, spinning fingers of cloud that reach towards the ground, but never touch it.
When they do reach the ground they become a tornado.
What are funnel clouds?
A funnel cloud is a cone-shaped cloud which extends from the base of a cloud towards the ground without actually reaching the surface.
In the UK they often look like thin dangling bits of rope, hanging from the cloud above. But in hotspots such as tornado alley in the USA, funnel clouds can sometimes be thicker and much more intense.
How do funnel clouds form?
A rotating column of wind draws in cloud droplets, making a region of intense low pressure visible.
They are formed in the same way as a tornado building around this localised area of intensely low pressure and are typically associated with the formation of cumulonimbus thunderclouds.
What weather is associated with funnel clouds?
Cumulonimbus clouds are almost always the host cloud from which tuba form, meaning that heavy rain, hail, thunder and lightning can all be expected.
If a funnel cloud does make contact with the ground and produce a tornado, very strong winds can be expected in the immediate vicinity of the vortex potentially causing severe damage.
What is the difference between a funnel cloud and a tornado?
Crucially, a funnel cloud does not reach the earth’s surface, at the point it reaches land it becomes a tornado, or if it reaches a body of water it becomes a waterspout.
In a typical year, the UK sees around 30-35 tornadoes each year, though it is very rare that are they strong enough to cause any significant damage.
Source: Met Office