Dust Devil

Dust Devil - A small atmospheric vortex not associated with a thunderstorm, which is made visible by a rotating cloud of dust or debris (dust whirl). Dust devils form in response to surface heating during fair, hot weather.

DUST DEVIL: A small, rapidly rotating wind that is made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up. Also called a whirlwind, it develops best on clear, dry, hot afternoons.

Dust Devil- a rapidly rotating column of air carrying dust, leaves and other light-weight material; dust devils usually develop during hot, sunny days over dry and dusty or sandy areas.

Dust Devil - a small whirlwind, usually of short duration, that is not associated with a thunderstorm and contains dust, sand, and debris picked up from the ground ...

dust devil: a small rotating column of wind that can be seen due to the dust and debris that it picks up.
duststorm: when strong winds blow over a dusty area, blowing the dust into the air and reducing visibility significantly.

Dust devil (or whirlwind) A small but rapidly rotating wind made visible by the dust, sand, and debris it picks up from the surface. It develops best on clear, dry, hot afternoons.
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Dust devil A swirling mass of dust triggered by intense solar heating of dry surface areas.
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Eddy viscosity Frictional resistance arising from eddies (irregular whirls) within a fluid such as air or water.

dust devil—A small, vigorous whirlwind, usually of short duration, rendered visible by dust, sand, and debris picked up from the ground.
duster—Same as duststorm.

DUST DEVIL
A small, rapidly rotating column of wind, made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up.

Dust Devils - A small but rapidly rotating column of wind of short duration that is made visible by dust, sand, and debris picked up from the ground. Diameter usually ranges from 10 to 100 feet and develop best on clear, dry, hot afternoons.

Dust devil - A small but intense vortex made visible by dust or debris (dust whirl), which forms in response to surface heating during fair, hot weather. Dust devils are most frequent in arid or semi-arid regions.

Dust Devil - Small whirlwinds of dust that form in dry areas like deserts. They may look like tornadoes, but dust devils are not formed by thunderstorms and do not drop from the sky.

Dust Devil- A small, whirling column of wind that picks up dirt and other loose material as it travels.

Dust devils can be seen by the dust stirred up at ground level, swept up by the secondary flow and concentrated in a central location.

DUST DEVIL - Swirling air that picks up dust caused by thermal lifting rapidly in unstable conditions.
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DUST DEVIL - A small convective vortex of warm dry air, common in hot and dry regions. These are characterized by blowing leaves or dust that reveal the vortex presence. The normally are not very dangerous, except to low level aviation concerns.

ash devils"Dust devils made visible by loose ash from the earth's surface that is picked up or entrained by the rotating column of air. For example, after the eruption of the Mount St.

Whirlwinds See Dust devils.
WHO World Health Organization.
Wind Air in motion relative to the earth's surface.

of National Weather Service office is responsible for issuing advisories, warnings, statements, and short term forecasts for its county warning areaWFPWarm Front PassageWhirlwindA small, rotating column of air; may be visible as a dust devil.

SNOW DEVIL A small, rotating wind that picks up loose snow instead of dirt (like a dust devil) or water (like a waterspout). Formed mechanically by the convergence of local air currents. Also called a snowspout.

Tornadoes are the upper end of a spectrum of atmospheric vortices starting with the common dust devil. The Coriolis force plays no role at such a small scale, only the pressure and centrifugal forces. The theory of vortexes will be found in Vortexes.

In general use the term cyclone is applied to any storm, especially violent, small-scale circulations such as tornados, waterspouts, and dust devils.

A small, rotating column of air; may be visible as a dust devil.
White Light (WL)
Sunlight integrated over the visible portion of the spectrum (4000 - 7000 angstroms) so that all colors are blended to appear white to the eye.

Whirlwind A small, rotating column of air; may be visible as a dust devil.
Wildfire Any free burning uncontainable wildland fire not prescribed for the area which consumes the natural fuels and spreads in response to its environment.

Sand Auger This term is used to refer to a dust devil or dust whirl which occurs in Death Valley, CA. It usually happens on calm, hot afternoons with clear skies when surface heating is at a maximum.

Dust
NOAA National Weather Service - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: AFTN, Dry Microburst, Dust Devil, Dust Plume, Dust Whirl, Fugitive Dust, Whirlwind
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A small-scale, rapidly rotating column of wind, formed thermally and most likely to develop on clear, dry, hot afternoons. Often called a dust devil when visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up. Also slang for a landspout or a tornado.

Microscale - A small-sized event that is usually measured in meters and seconds to minutes; a cloud-sized phenomenon; e.g. turbulence, and dust devils.

Nearly all mesocyclones and strong or violent tornadoes exhibit cyclonic rotation, but some smaller vortices, such as gustnadoes or dust devils occasionally rotate anticyclonically (anticlockwise). Compare with anticyclonic rotation.

Also called a low pressure system and the term used for a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean. Other phenomena with cyclonic flow may be referred to by this term, such as dust devils, tornadoes, and tropical and extratropical systems.

Temperatures can be scorching, and dust devils, whirling dust pillars raised by columns of rising hot air, are frequently seen. During October to November bushfires are fairly common - usually ignited by lightning from dry, gusty thunderstorms.

It was once thought that dust particles were a main source of condensation nuclei; this is no longer regarded as probable as most dusts are not sufficiently hygroscopic. Compare smoke, haze; see duststorm, dust devil.

Dust Devil: A small whirlwind of air of short duration which moves along the ground picking up dust, sand, dirt, leaves, debris.
Dust Storm: A large area of dust blown in the air by strong winds over a wide area.
Dyne: A unit of force.

Since their origin is associated with cumuliform clouds, gustnadoes will be classified as Thunderstorm Wind events. Like dust devils, some stronger gustnadoes can cause damage.

See also: Dust, Air, Surface, Wind, Cloud