VIDEO: Shocking waterspout causes panic along Florida coastline

Witnesses managed to capture the moment when a huge and perfect waterspout formed along the Florida coast on Tuesday morning, causing panic among residents.

The impressive natural phenomenon formed around 6:00 a.m. off the Emerald Coast in the city of Destin. The event was caused by intense thunderstorms flowing over the Gulf of Mexico, El Diario reported.

Many residents captured the spectacular phenomenon, especially Boo Freeman, who saw the waterspout up close while standing on an empty beach. 

"What a morning," Freeman shared on Instagram alongside the video.

Freeman told AccuWeather that the waterspout dissipated offshore. "I've seen a lot of water spouts; just last week we had another one pass through."

AccuWeather senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell explained that this was not a typical waterspout. "This appears to have been a legitimate tornado over water formed by a supercell storm, not a weak waterspout that came out of a rainstorm."

Weather data show that a strong thunderstorm appeared near the coast that triggered the funnel.

The National Weather Service issued a special marine warning for offshore waters shortly after the waterspout was sighted, which is the fifth reported off the Florida Panhandle this summer.