This is the terrifying moment a huge funnel-shaped tornado loomed over a town bringing traffic to a standstill.

Onlooker Dianne Morco was shopping when the dark clouds formed and the twister stretched down towards the market in Sorsogon province, the Philippines on Wednesday afternoon (September 9).

She said the weather suddenly changed from sunny and hot to dark and cloudy as gusts blew and the landspout tornado materialised.

Dianne said: "My neighbours and I were freaked out. We thought it was going to reach us and cause destruction but it was gone after a few minutes."

Drivers and shoppers were stunned when they all saw the weather phenomenon and briefly stopped their activities to watch it move overhead.

The tornado dissipated slowly only a couple of minutes and did not cause damage to the properties.

Landspout tornadoes are a type of non-supercell tornado. They are not as dangerous as supercell tornadoes and they are formed when a vertically spinning parcel of air already occurring near the ground comes in contact with an updraft, that stretches the rotating column.

The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of up to 300 mph. It can destroy large buildings, uproot trees and hurl vehicles up to hundreds of yards away.