Mini tornado forms in Ras Al Khaimah amid unstable weather

Twister was captured on camera after rain was forecast in the east of the UAE

Footage of the mini tornado was shared on the Storm Centre channel on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A mini tornado formed in a rural area of Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday amid unstable weather in the emirate.

Footage was shared on the Storm Centre channel on X, formerly known as Twitter. The channel tracks extreme weather in the country.

"Emirates: now in the direction of Siji and Kadra, south of Ras Al Khaimah," Storm Centre said in its post.

Tornadoes, colloquially known as twisters, are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air that typically form during storms.

Although uncommon in the UAE, such phenomena can occur during bouts of unstable weather.

The National Centre of Meteorology said on Wednesday that cloud in the east of the UAE would probably bring rain.

The centre earlier issued an orange weather alert for parts of Sharjah and Fujairah, with yellow alerts issued for Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah.

In its social media updates, it reported heavy rain in some areas of Fujairah and Sharjah. The wet weather is expected to clear by the evening.

Last September, a mini tornado was captured on camera in rural Sharjah. There were also reports of a mini twister in Al Ain last year.