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Footage captured on Sunday in Greenwich Park, south-east London, showed a small whirlwind, or dust devil, swirling around people.
Jimmy O'Keeffe – who took the footage – says he was "shocked and in total disbelief" as his picnic was disturbed.
Dust devils are formed on warm, sunny days and are visible due to the dust or hay that they pick up and swirl around.
The weather phenomenon was also seen north-east of Leeds Castle in Kent this weekend.
In Greenwich, some people got up from their picnics as the "dust devil" moved across the park, with some even heard screaming.
O'Keeffe – who's 35 and originally from Manchester, although lives in Greenwich – says it lasted for a few minutes before disappearing.
He adds that most people stayed calm – and that his picnic food had a "lucky escape".
Reporting by Maddie Lake
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