A dust devil whipped up a storm at a car park in northern China.

The dramatic footage was filmed in Shuozhou City in Shanxi Province on April 16.

A local car repairman, Mr. Guo, saw what began as a small whirlwind quickly escalate into a massive spiralling column nearly two metres in diameter and 30 metres high.

It lasted for about two minutes before dissipating into the air like smoke, leaving no damage or injuries in its wake.

Li Rui, the director of the Shuozhou Meteorological Observatory, explained that the phenomenon was a dust devil, spawned by severe ground heating around midday which caused intense upward movements of air. Such large-scale dust devils are quite rare in the region.

Dust devils typically form over land areas like grasslands and deserts and are caused by uneven heating of the ground. These columns of rotating air are usually a few metres in diameter, last only a few minutes, and are generally limited in scope and destructive power.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

4月16日中午，山西朔州，郭先生在修车时，发现停车场的土坪上突然刮起了一阵小旋风，随后旋风越来越大，最后达到了直径近2米，数十米高，像龙卷风一样直冲天际。
郭先生表示，持续了大约2分钟，可能有30米高，最后像一股烟一样消失了，没有财产损失，也没有人因此受伤。
对此，朔州市气象台台长李睿表示，“它是尘卷风，由于中午前后地面受热，上升运动剧烈形成的，这个规模的尘卷风，在当地比较罕见。”
资料显示，尘卷风是由于地面局部增热不均匀而形成的一种特殊的旋转对流运动，一般出现在陆地，多见于草地、沙漠等地方，其直径在几米左右，持续时间只有几分钟，范围通常很小，破坏力有限。