The series of snaps show the stormy skies over Genoa, Italy, as the tornado, known as a waterspout when occurring over water, sweeps over the sea. 

Dark, blustery clouds can be seen filling the sky as the twister hits the ocean, with dramatic flashes of lightening and rumbles of thunder taking place in the background.

A tornado is a column of air rotating at extreme speed, which reaches from a storm cloud to the surface, creating a wind tunnel. 

The winds of a tornado can reach speeds of up to 300 miles per hour (480km per hour) and although most last for less than ten minutes, travelling just a few miles, in extreme cases they can last for hours.   

The dramatic pictures were caught on camera by Evgeny Drokov, from Russia, who was on holiday in Genoa with his family. 

Mr Drokov, 41, said: 'I've never seen anything like this before! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we were about two kilometres away from the tornado on our balcony.

'It was our last morning of family vacation in Genoa before driving back home. We had been packing the bags, and then the show began!

'We could see it so well because the apartment house is located on the heel at a distance - there wasn't much rain at the time, it was pure luck.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)