Footage of a rare landspout tornado in northwest Montana has been going viral on the internet. Here's what we know about it.

Montana Tornado
Youtube/ Isley Reust
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Tornados aren't necessarily uncommon in Montana. They certainly aren't as common as they are in the Midwest, but tornadoes have done considerable damage to places like Billings in the past.

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The landspout tornado was spotted Tuesday night over the Mission Valley in northwest Montana. Residents quickly pulled out their phones to record footage of the rare event and shared them on social media.

What is a Landspout Tornado?

According to NOAA;

A landspout is a tornado with a narrow, rope-like condensation funnel that forms while the thunderstorm cloud is still growing and there is no rotating updraft - the spinning motion originates near the ground.

In 2010, an EF2 tornado touched down in Billings, Montana, and tore off the roof of the MetraPark Arena. Apparently, wind speeds reached as high as 130 mph.

Thankfully, there were no injuries reported in association with yesterday's tornado, but the footage is absolutely wild. Personally, I've never seen a tornado on top of a mountain, and I'm pretty sure that not a lot of people have.

Videos of Rare Mountain Tornado in Montana

To say it was an incredible sight is an understatement. Most people will probably never experience something like it in their lifetime, similar to windchill temperatures below -60. Montana has all of the extremes, and we love it. I never thought I'd be writing about a Sno-Nado, but here we are.

If you search "Montana Tornado" on Facebook, you can find a lot of different videos filmed by residents of the Mission Valley.

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