Dramatic images capture ferocious tornado that looks like a mushroom cloud battering the plains of Wyoming

• e-mail

At first glance, these images could be mistake for the mushroom cloud after a nuclear blast.

But they actually show a ferocious tornado as it battered the plains of Wyoming.  

Veteran storm chaser Greg Campbell captured the pictures of a rare twister as it left behind a trail of devastation near Laramie.

Campbell, who snapped the pictures while on holiday northeast of Laramie, said it was the most dramatic tornado he'd ever seen.

At first glance, this image could be mistake for the mushroom cloud after a nuclear blast but it actually shows the ferocity of a tornado as it battered the plains of Wyoming

Storm chaser Greg Campbell captured the pictures of a rare twister as it left behind a trail of devastation near Laramie

'We chased it down near Laramie. We saw debris on the ground from where it crossed a road,' he said.

'We then watched it head up over the nearby hills, shrouded in dust and debris. We pursued it and caught back up to it as it reformed, then roped out.'

He added: 'We saw its birth and death, and everything in between. It was sensational day.'

Describing seeing the unique tornado as a 'dream come true,' he added: 'I've had a fascination with storms from a young age and seeing a tornado is the epitome of storm watching.

'This is the largest tornado I've ever seen and to be one of the very few people that saw it makes it so special. It was almost surreal.' 

Campbell, who snapped the pictures while on holiday in Laramie, said it was the most dramatic tornado he'd ever seen

'We then watched it head up over the nearby hills, shrouded in dust and debris. We pursued it and caught back up to it as it reformed, then roped out,' Campbell said

'We saw its birth and death, and everything in between. It was sensational day,' the veteran storm chaser added