Anglesey residents have been looking to the skies over the island, after several sightings of a "twister".

Anglesey twister
©BBC
The "twister" over Anglesey


The tornado and funnel clouds were caught on camera in several sightings on Wednesday across the island.

"It was unmistakable," remarked Paul Glover, from Valley, who managed to film the phenomenon.

BBC Wales' weatherman, Derek Brockway, said tornadoes are more common than people think, with around 30 a year in the UK.

"In fact there are more tornadoes per square mile in Britain than in the USA - but thankfully they are not as destructive," said the meteorologist.

"On average we can expect 33 every year, but in 1982 there were 152."

He said they are funnel clouds unless they touch the ground, when they become tornadoes. They become water spouts, if they hit water.

Mr Glover said he first spotted the twister at around 1000 BST on Wednesday, as he looked towards the mainland and Snowdon, and quickly grabbed a video camera.

"I kept following it for a few minutes but it dissipated before it touched the ground," he explained.

"It was a long way off so I was never really worried that it would do any damage.''

Another Anglesey eyewitness was Andrew Mason, from Dwyran.

"I noticed that the cloud formation was really odd and when I looked away and looked back, only then I realized that it was a twister,'' he said.

"My partner was in a panic trying to locate the camera and whether there was any charge in it."

According to the BBC Wales' weatherman, there was another tornado above Abergavenny just last week.

And another top tip from Derek is not to confuse a tornado with a hurricane - which is a tropical storm that only builds up in very warm seas.