Camper films the ‘twister’ in the sky above Davidstow

A man spotted what appears to be a large spinner in the sky while on a camping trip in Cornwall. Nick Maddern, from St Austell, filmed the dramatic footage on Thursday (May 16) in north Cornwall.

Taken from a site in Davidstow, on the northern side of Bodmin Moor, near Camelford, the video shows the column of air spinning rapidly above it. Another term for a tornado or vortex, twisters usually occur as a result of strong thunderstorms when warm, moist air collides with cool, dry air.

It will certainly be a funnel cloud, however, which is a cone-shaped cloud that extends from the base of a cloud toward the ground without actually reaching the surface. In the UK they often look like thin pieces of rope hanging from the cloud above – exactly like tornadoes or twisters.

READ MORE: Visitors angry at £100 charge for parking for more than 14 minutes

READ MORE: Family are ‘struggling’ after ‘life-changing’ house fire ravages.

Paris Ringham, his partner, said he first saw her over Davidstow Airfield at around 2pm. “I was joking at first,” she said. “I noticed it and said it looks like a little twisted and then Nick said, ‘That’s right, take the camera!’

These intriguing-looking clouds have been spotted on previous occasions in north Cornwall, with one captured on video in June 2023. It was described as a “baby tornado that starts to form but never quite gets there” in Camelford.

The BBC’s chief meteorologist, David Braine, said at the time funnel clouds were normally forming under thunderclouds. He said: “In the UK in the summer they are quite common, not always as obvious as these shots and rarely cause damage unless they form a tornado.”

⚠️ Want the latest breaking Cornwall news and top stories first? Click here to join CornwallLive on WhatsApp and we’ll send you breaking news and top stories straight to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out anytime you want. If you are curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

In September, onlookers were stunned when they filmed what they thought was a tornado off the coast of Cornwall. The sighting was seen off the south coast around St Austell Bay.

Kal Atter, who saw the funnel cloud and mistook it for a tornado, said: “I saw a small tornado form, then it disappeared off the coast of St Austell around 6.55pm this evening.” Other occasions when such a cloud has been seen off the Cornish coast include one seen in Fowey the previous summer.

The October before this, tourists and residents alike were left impressed, confused and in some cases a little scared after seeing what they thought was a tornado near the Rock.

Often confused with twisters or tornadoes, in most cases these targets are funnel clouds. While a funnel cloud can look just like a tornado, the official definition of a tornado requires it to touch the ground and be accompanied by violently rotating winds. Therefore, not all funnel clouds develop into actual tornadoes.