Incredibly Rare 'Snow Devil' Caught on Dashcam

A rare "snownado," also known as a snow devil, has been captured on camera after it emerged on the mountains of Idaho.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) shared the video of the snow devil on its Twitter account on December 23.

In the clip, an ITD employee could be seen driving along a highway near Lava Hot Springs as a snownado formed in the distance.

ITD officials said the footage was filmed on a GoPro camera that was mounted above the dashboard.

The post read: "On Wednesday one of our staff was driving US-30 over Fish Creek Summit while using a GoPro to capture stock footage. He was lucky enough to catch a snow devil on camera."

Since being shared on social media, the video has attracted more than 23,700 times.

In a Facebook post, shared the same day an ITD spokesperson added: "Whatever the name, it's pretty cool. You can see it on the left side of the road near the pass."

True to the description, the snownado could been seen spinning in the distance close to the highway.

Are Snow Devils Dangerous?

They don't seem to be. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a snow devil is "a very rare phenomenon that occurs when surface wind shear acts to generate vortex over snow cover, resulting in a whirling column of snow particles being raised from the ground."

The WMO added: "It is sometimes referred to as a 'snownado.'"

Newsweek has contacted the ITD for comment.

The U.S. has experienced rare and historic weather conditions after a deadly 'Arctic bomb' swept across the country.

Large amounts of snow buried regions close to the Great Lakes and beyond, plunging several states down to sub-freezing temperatures.

Conditions in Buffalo, New York, turned deadly with dozens of fatalities after the storm swept across the city.

According to AccuWeather, the same powerful storm brought blizzard conditions and record-breaking cold to the central U.S. and also created major a lake-effect snow event in New York state.

Thousands of customers in Texas were left without power after the storm brought icy temperatures and strong winds to the Lone Star State last week, straining the power grid.

While the storm did not cause widespread blackouts like the one in 2021, some power companies were forced to carry out smaller-level blackouts to alleviate the power grid's stress.

Despite the lesser power outages, Texas Governor Greg Abbott faced criticism with many pointing to spiked energy costs amid the storm. Prices in some areas topped $500 per megawatt-hour, more than five times the regular cost.