This video shows the moment a cold air funnel appears to form above the mountains in California.

It was seen spiralling above Palm Springs on Friday as the area experienced unusual weather phenomena - including rain.

Passerby Lacey Perez, 40, captured the moment on camera as she pulled into a truck stop in Indio, California.

Lacey, a Uber driver and freelance accounting specialist, from Orange County, was stunned when she looked up and saw the tornado in the distance.

She said: "This doesn't happen out here. We were driving and had just pulled into a truck stop."

"My boyfriend said 'is that a tornado?' We could see the spiral starting to come down."

"It was something so bizarre to see out here. It's something I've never seen about in California. It's super rare. It was a sunny day."

Lacey said the the cloud never reached the ground and luckily didn't do any damage but was "scary" to see."

National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Suk told local media that cold air funnels are spinning columns of air that look similar to a tornado.

But while tornados often touch the ground, cold air funnels occur much higher in the atmosphere, generally above 5,000 feet.

As such, a cold air funnel is unlikely to reach the ground and is effectively harmless.

Several were reported in the area on Friday and Suk said they are common near mountains and in low-pressure systems because the air is naturally spinning.

That low-pressure system, which has moved down the West Coast from Canada, also brought rainfall to portions of the Coachella Valley for the first time in months.

Preliminary data showed Palm Springs International Airport received 0.08 inches of rain, its first measurable precipitation since March 31.

However, no rain was reported at the agency's primary weather station in Indio.