Fire tornado pictures in Missouri are making the headlines this week. The fire tornado pictures were reportedly snapped by resident Janae Copelin while she was driving past a burning farm.

According to Independent, Copelin was just driving by when she saw the amazing 'fire tornado' phenomenon. She was smart and quick enough to take snapshots of the event. Now, many are curious as to what the fire tornado pictures are all about and how they came to be.

Copelin was reportedly driving past a burning farm when she suddenly saw a rare 'fire twister' image forming. The fire tornado pictures were taken as the formation formed through the combination of the fire and strong winds.

CBS Local reports that a Missouri farmer set his field alight, and that's when Copelin saw and took the fire tornado pictures. The twisting column of fire shot into the sky after the fire was set by the farmer.

According to reports, the rare phenomenon is most commonly known as a ‘fire devil'. The image forms after strong winds sweeps up the flames into a horrific-looking funnel.

Copelin reportedly posted the fire tornado pictures on Instagram. She said it was the "coolest/scariest thing I've ever seen".

Copelin captioned her fire tornado pictures: "A farmer burning off his field and as we stopped so I could take a picture the wind whipped up this fire twister #nofilter #firestorm #firetwister".

The tornado-like fire whirls are reportedly formed when intense heat combines with strong winds. Meteorologists described the phenomenon shown in the fire tornado pictures. They detailed them as "rapidly spinning vortices that form when air superheated by an intense wildfire rises rapidly, consolidating low-level spin from winds converging into the fire like a spinning ice skater, pulling its arms inward."

Jim Kramper, a warning coordination meteorologist with the St. Louis office of the National Weather Service told KMOX News that the fire tornadoes are spectacular to see but also very rare. He said, "It's not like it's a weird phenomenon, but I wouldn't say we're going to be seeing these all over the place. But yeah, they can happen."

Fire tornado pictures are rarely taken as the phenomenon doesn't usually last for more than a few seconds. It's a good thing Copelin was quick to take a snapshot of it and shared it with the world.