Dust Devil

A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 metres wide and more than 1000 metres tall). The primary vertical motion is upward. Dust devils are usually harmless, but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat to both people and property.

They are comparable to tornadoes in that both are a weather phenomenon of a vertically oriented rotating column of air. Most tornadoes are associated with a larger parent circulation, the mesocyclone on the back of a supercell thunderstorm. Dust devils form as a swirling updraft under sunny conditions during fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.

Dust devils rarely cause injury to people on the ground; however, 1 case is reported every 5 to 10 years. The exception is for parachutist under canopy and light aircraft near the ground. If seen, parachutist and light aircraft avoid dust devils. They can collapse parachute canopies, and if near the ground, re-inflation, or using the reserve parachute is not possible.