A landspout tornado shocked locals as it whipped through a dusty car park in Thailand.

The weather phenomenon was recorded during a hot day as temperatures reached 30 degrees Celcius in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province on February 26.

Onlooker Paveena Sapasert cowered next to her car as she watched the tornado slowly moved across the car park.

She said: ‘It was scary because at first I thought it was coming towards me. I was relieved when it left without damaging anything.’

Landspouts are formed when the sun heats a patch of land, causing the air above it to become warmer.

The warm air then rapidly rises but cools slower than the surrounding dry air. This leads to instability in the air and updrafts.

Cooler air then moves into the low-pressure gap left by the rising warm air. The new air rises and the cycle continues, picking up dust and debris making the spiral visible.