A freak tornado has been spotted off the west coast of England amid 24 hours of bizarre weather conditions.

The looming twister was pictured towering over rooftops in the tiny village of Caton by a stunned photographer in Morecambe, Lancashire.

The dark funnel-shaped cloud appeared on the backdrop of a grey, stormy sky sparked by Hurricane Ophelia.

"Tornado alert - an image of what looks like a twister taken over Caton," the Twitter account Morecambe Bay posted.

The picture was uploaded after a day of unusual weather conditions.

The eerie photo was taken in Morecambe, Lancashire

At Trearddur Bay, in Holyhead, Wales, sea foam whipped up by wind from Ophelia covered the promenade.

The substance, which looked a lot like snow, coated vehicles and pavements.

Many people in England also woke up today to an eerie sky.

A car drives through sea foam whipped up by wind from Hurricane Ophelia (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)
The substance looked like snow (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)
It covered covers the promenade at Trearddur Bay in Holyhead, Wales (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)

Dubbed the 'hurricane sun', bizarre glowing red, orange and yellow colours were reported up and down the country.

Later on, the phenomenon spread further north towards Manchester and Liverpool, and across towards London.

The colour of the sky gradually changed from blood red to orange and then yellow by mid-afternoon.

Experts said winds were strong over Iberia on Sunday, which resulted in dust being blown to the UK by remnants of Hurricane Ophelia.

The sky turned orange over buildings in Canary Wharf, London (
Image:
REUTERS)
The capital city experienced a bizarre orange glow (
Image:
Splash News)
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A burning smell was also reported by worried Brits.

According to Scientific America, weather patterns produce distinctive odours.

The organisation said the smell is actually 'ozone' – a form of oxygen that has been split by an electrical charge into separate atoms.

The red was pictured glowing over Merseyside today (
Image:
Liverpool Echo)

A thunderstorm’s downdrafts carry ozone from higher altitudes to nose level - explaining why the scent heralds stormy weather.

The Southwest Storm Chasers said on their Facebook page that they were getting "lots of reports" of a burning smell across Cornwall while others in Plymouth made similar claims.

The stench reached as far as Penzance, Illogan, Godrevy, Hayle, Redruth, Torrington, Ivybridge and Plymouth - with people in the same areas reporting an "eerie-looking" sky.

Three people were killed in the storm as it battered Ireland today.

Michael Pyke, 31, was killed after he went to cut up fallen tree with a chainsaw while Clare O'Neill, in her 50s, suffered fatal injuries when a branch smashed through her windscreen.

A third male victim also died in Ravensdale, Dundalk, Ireland, after a tree struck the car he was travelling in.