Microburst? Waterspout? Strange cloud formation baffles Oak Island, North Carolina residents

Residents of Oak Island, a North Carolina beach town, were left confused by and in awe of a strange cloud formation that formed overhead during the late afternoon of December 31.

In the video, a cone-shaped, cloud-like phenomenon can be seen meeting what appears to be a shelf cloud. The filmer, Terrah Hewett, said the formation was over the sea most of the time.

Hewett's clip was shared over 200 times on Facebook, with comments expressing bewilderment and debating what it is. Some suggested that it was a small microburst, a meteorological term for a concentrated downpour, while others noted its resemblance to a tornado.

"It was amazing and scary," Hewett said in a reply to one of the comments.