Apparent 'gustnado' blows past Colorado high school during storm: VIDEO

PUEBLO WEST, Colo. -- A Colorado high school teacher captured video footage of an ominous-looking cyclone blowing past campus Wednesday, but it was more bark than bite.

Sam Pisciotta's footage showed the dark, wide cyclone as it blew past Pueblo West High School about 120 miles south of Denver. It's believed to be a gustnado, a "short-lived, ground-based swirling wind that can form on the leading edge of a severe thunderstorm," according to AccuWeather.

"The gustnado spins upward from the ground, extending between 30 to 300 feet above the surface. However, the rotating column of air in a gustnado is not connected to the base of a cloud, making it different from a tornado," AccuWeather added. "The average gustnado lasts a few seconds to a few minutes, like a tornado does, but is relatively weak and brief."

According to local media outlets, the National Weather Service reported gusts of 107 miles per hour in the area at the time Pisciotta spotted the cyclone.