PETALING JAYA: The mini tornado near the Damansara toll plaza yesterday evening formed amid active thunderstorm clouds, Malaysian meteorological department (MetMalaysia) director-general Hisham Anip said today.
Hisham said tornadoes were rapidly rotating columns of air formed by wind shear and updrafts as thunderstorm clouds developed.
He also said tornadoes could form in unstable, humid atmospheric conditions when winds from different directions interact.
Hisham said tornadoes in Malaysia were relatively small, measuring less than 10m tall and lasting for a short time.
“This makes their formation difficult to detect using radar and weather satellites. However, MetMalaysia issued a thunderstorm warning for districts in Selangor at 5.30pm on Oct 13,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
He said landspouts, tornadoes and waterspouts occurred frequently during the monsoon transition periods from March to May and September to October.
Yesterday, social media users shared several videos of the apparent tornado at the toll plaza, where strong winds appeared to lift the rear end of a vehicle off the ground.