This is the terrifying moment a giant waterspout tornado tore across the ocean in Mexico.

The towering wind vortex was spotted swirling along the coastline before dissipating in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.

Footage captured by Tricia Renee shows the massive vertical cloud spinning in the sky, narrowing at its base as it twisted over the water before slowly dissolving on the afternoon of August 13.

Tricia said: 'I've never seen anything like this before. Over the turquoise horizon, a slender column danced between sea and sky, a fleeting tromba—nature's powerful yet beautiful force beyond our control.'

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.