This is the spectacular moment a rare pair of twin waterspouts was seen towering over a river in Florida.

Footage shows two swirling columns stretching from dark storm clouds down to the water's surface in Bradenton.

The unusual pair churned the surface of the Manatee River near a dock on June 22.

One funnel was noticeably larger and wider while the other on the left appeared thinner and dissipated more quickly.

The wife of Mayor Gene Brown, who witnessed the scene from a nearby building, said: ‘That one on the right is huge.'

The simultaneous appearance of two waterspouts close together is rare.

Two types of tornado form at sea - tornadic waterspouts and fair-weather waterspouts. Tornadic waterspouts form from thunderstorms, just like land tornadoes, while fair-weather waterspouts are typically smaller and less powerful without the need for storms.

Both types of waterspout tornadoes are created when there is a strong difference in air pressure between the surface of the water and the air above it. This difference in pressure creates an updraft, which draws air from the surface of the water into the atmosphere. As the air rises, it cools and condenses, forming a cloud. The cloud can then rotate, forming a waterspout.

It is rare for waterspouts to cause severe damage. However, in August 2023 two tourists were killed and six injured when a waterspout tornado hit their boat on an estuary river in Phetchaburi, southern Thailand.