Rare 'snownado' caught on camera in Idaho

The Idaho Transportation Department said an employee captured this winter phenomenon. (Credit: Idaho Transportation Department)

A rare winter phenomenon recently appeared in the snow-capped mountains of Idaho.

The state's transportation department said an employee captured a snow devil, or a ‘snownado,' while driving along US-30 over Fish Creek Summit.

Officials said the employee was using a GoPro camera to obtain stock footage of the snow.

"He was lucky enough to catch a snow devil on camera!" the department posted on Facebook.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, a snow devil "is a very rare phenomenon that occurs when surface wind shear acts to generate a vortex over snow cover, resulting in a whirling column of snow particles being raised from the ground."

"Whatever the name, it's pretty cool! You can see it on the left side of the road near the pass," ITD responded.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.