Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Dust devil
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Hazards== [[File:Remolino (tourbillon de sable).ogg|right|thumb|Large dust devil in Mexico]] [[File:Dust Devil Damage.jpg|alt=Damage to a home from a strong dust devil in IA, USA.|thumb|Slight damage to the side of a home from a strong dust devil in Iowa, USA]] Dust devils typically do not cause injuries, but rare, severe dust devils have caused damage and even deaths in the past.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dust Devil Events |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28C%29+Dust+Devil&beginDate_mm=01&beginDate_dd=01&beginDate_yyyy=1950&endDate_mm=02&endDate_dd=28&endDate_yyyy=2022&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=-999%2CALL |website=National Centers for Environmental Information |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref> One such dust devil struck the [[Coconino County, Arizona|Coconino County]] Fairgrounds in [[Flagstaff, Arizona]], on September 14, 2000, causing extensive damage to several temporary tents, stands and booths, as well as some permanent fairgrounds structures. Several injuries were reported, but there were no fatalities. Based on the degree of damage left behind, it is estimated that the dust devil produced winds as high as 75 mph (120 km/h), which is equivalent to an [[Enhanced Fujita Scale|EF0]] tornado.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dust Devil |url=https://www.weather.gov/fgz/DustDevil |website=www.weather.gov |access-date=11 June 2022 |language=EN-US}}</ref> On May 19, 2003, a dust devil lifted the roof off a two-story building in [[Lebanon, Maine]], causing it to collapse and kill a man inside.<ref>[http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~499035 NCDC: Event Details] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129192229/http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~499035 |date=2009-01-29 }} ''[[National Climatic Data Center]]'.' Retrieved 2008-06-05.</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/21/us/national-briefing-new-england-maine-man-dies-in-windstorm.html | work=The New York Times | title=Man Dies In Windstorm | date=May 21, 2003 | access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> On June 18, 2008, a woman near [[Casper, Wyoming]] was killed when a dust devil caused a small scorer's shed at a youth baseball field to flip on top of her. She had been trying to shelter from the dust devil by going behind the shed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arizona Event Report: Dust Devil |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=96914 |website=National Centers for Environmental Information |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref> At East [[El Paso, Texas]] in 2010, three children in an [[inflatable castle|inflatable jump house]] were picked up by a dust devil and lifted over 10 feet (3 m), travelling over a fence and landing in a backyard three houses away.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legend, Lore & Legacy: Dust Devils Swoop Up as Desert Sideshow{{!}}July 2012{{!}} TPW magazine |url=https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2012/jul/LLL_dustdevils/ |website=tpwmagazine.com |access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref><ref>This rare weather incident was the subject of a [[United States Air Force]] Weather Squadron study: Clarence Giles, "Air Force Weather Squadron forecasts, studies weather to keep servicemembers safe", https://web.archive.org/web/20150518114436/http://fortblissbugle.com/air-force-weather-squadron-forecasts-studies-weather-to-keep-servicemembers-safe/ archived 2015-05-18 ''[[Fort Bliss]] Bugle'', Unit News p.1A (January 12, 2011)</ref> In [[Commerce City, Colorado]] in 2018, a powerful dust devil hurtled two [[Chemical toilet|porta-potties]] into the air; no one was injured.<ref>{{cite news |title=Watch: Portable toilets spiral into the sky as Colorado park-goers hide from windstorm |url=https://www.newsweek.com/portable-toilet-port-potty-flying-viral-video-dust-devil-commerce-city-984655 |access-date=11 June 2022 |work=Newsweek |date=19 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lane |first1=Damon |title=Colorado Dust Devil Tosses Porta-Potties |url=http://texasstormwatch.com/2018/06/colorado-dust-devil-tosses-porta-potties.html |website=Texas Storm Watch |access-date=16 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616125948/http://texasstormwatch.com/2018/06/colorado-dust-devil-tosses-porta-potties.html |archive-date=16 June 2018 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In 2019, a large dust devil in Yucheng county, Henan province, China killed 2 children and injured 18 children and 2 adults when an inflatable jump house was lifted into the air.<ref>[https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3004174/two-children-killed-when-bouncy-castle-swept-air-dust-devil Two children killed after bouncy castle is swept into air by ‘dust devil’ in central China], ''South China Morning Post'', April 1, 2019</ref> Dust devils have been implicated in around 100 aircraft accidents.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lorenz|first=Ralph|title=Dust Devil Hazard to Aviation: A Review of US Air Accident Reports|journal=Journal of Meteorology|year=2005|volume=28|issue=298|pages=178–184|url=http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rlorenz/dustdevilaviation.pdf|access-date=17 September 2012}}</ref> While many incidents have been simple taxiing problems, a few have had fatal consequences. Dust devils are also considered major hazards among [[Skydiving|skydivers]] and [[Paragliding|paragliding pilots]] as they can cause a [[parachute]] or a paraglider to collapse with little to no warning, at altitudes considered too low to [[Cut-away|cut away]], and contribute to the serious injury or death of parachutists.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=United States Parachute Association | title=Dust Devils |date=July 9, 2012 | url=http://parachutistonline.com/safety_training/safety_check/dust-devils | access-date=2014-08-12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917124209/http://parachutistonline.com/safety_training/safety_check/dust-devils | archive-date=2017-09-17 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Skydiving instructor Tony Rokov killed in accident at Goulburn airport|url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/skydiving-instructor-tony-rokov-killed-in-accident-at-goulburn-airport-20151121-gl4raf.html|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=22 November 2015|access-date=22 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/paraglider-landed-180km-away-after-being-thrown-off-cliff-by-dust-devil-20190103-p50pi9.html|title=Paraglider landed 180km away after being thrown off cliff by dust devil|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=3 January 2019|access-date=3 January 2019}}</ref> Such was the case on June 1, 1996, when a dust devil caused a skydiver's parachute to collapse about {{convert|30|ft|m}} above the ground. He later died from the injuries he sustained.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nevada Event Report: Dust Devil |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5551726 |website=National Centers for Environmental Information |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref> Dust devils can also contribute to wildfires. One case occurred in [[Engebæk]], [[Billund Municipality]], [[Denmark]] in 1868 where a dust devil tossed tuft into a heater, causing a wildfire that possibly extended from 10,000 to 50,000 hectares or more.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi?lang=en_0&lastquery=16275896917 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817162827/https://eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi?lang=en_0&lastquery=16275896917 | archive-date=2023-08-17 | title=European Severe Weather Database }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)