Dust Devils

When I think of the term dust devil, my brain instantly goes to Taz the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes. I think the reason for this is because when Taz gets to spinning really fast he kind of looks like a dust devil. Which is probably the thought process behind his name. Anyways, Looney Tunes characters aside, dust devils are real things, and seeing one in person is pretty cool, and almost a little eerie as they have a tornado-like look to them, but don't worry they are rarely strong enough to cause any kind of damage.

What is a Dust Devil?

So what exactly is a dust devil? Well, basically it's the name for dirt and debris that's kicked up into a whirlwind. They are also called sand whirls or dust whirls.

Photo by Sergio R. Ortiz on Unsplash

The official definition from the World Meteorological Organization is:

Dust whirl or sand whirl (dust devil): An ensemble of particles of dust or sand, sometimes accompanied by small litter, raised from the ground in the form of a whirling column of varying height with a small diameter and an approximately vertical axis.
Dust whirls or sand whirls occur when the air near the ground is very unstable as, for instance, when the soil is strongly heated by the Sun (insolation). The rotation may be in either direction around the centre. Heights are generally less than 30 m, but heights of up to 1 km have been reported.

The World Meteorological Organization goes on to say that dust devils are rarely strong enough to cause any damage.

Dust Devil Video in Southern Indiana

Recently Chief Meteorologist from Eyewitness News, Wayne Hart shared a video of a dust devil to his Facebook page, and the video is absolutely wild! The video is of a dust devil near Vincennes, Indiana and the dust devil gets pretty large before beginning to dissipate. Check out the video below!