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'Smoke-nado': Unique weather phenomenon caught near fire in Maricopa

A Twitter user captured video of the weather phenomenon after a fire broke out at a tree farm in Maricopa.

MARICOPA, Ariz. — A unique weather phenomenon was captured on camera in Arizona on Monday. And thanks to an eagle-eyed Twitter user, we get to see it as well.

On July 31, lightning reportedly caused a fire at a tree farm near Maricopa. As the fire burned, Twitter user Ben McMillan was near by and witnessed a "smoke-nado" form and move through the burning brush.

The National Weather Service saw the video and shared some insight into how the smoke-fueled funnel cloud formed.

"Check out this neat "smoke-nado" that was generated by converging winds from a nearby thunderstorm," the NWS tweet read. "This was located by the Tree Farm Fire west of Maricopa, AZ."

According to officials, the fire is expected to burn for a couple of weeks. 

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Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state.

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