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A dust devil seen in Amboseli National Park, Kenya in 1993. A dust devil (also known regionally as a dirt devil) is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (18 in/half a metre wide and a few yards/metres tall) to large (more than 30 ft/10 m wide and more than half a mile/1 km tall).
Large dust devils may pose a danger to equipment from Earth. [1] However, some vortices have had beneficial effects. In 2005, the Spirit rover directly encountered a dust devil which blew off the dust which had accumulated on the rover's solar panels, dramatically increasing power levels and enhancing research productivity. [13]
A "firenado" actually has more in common with a whirlwind or dust devil, as they form from the ground upwards. ... They are often very short-lived but can be extremely dangerous, as winds can blow ...
A whirlwind A dust devil at school ground Whirlwind, 61 km northeast of Broome, Western Australia. A whirlwind is a phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow gradients.
A fire whirl, fire devil or fire tornado is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind , often made visible by smoke , and may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air.
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Dust kicked up by the winds of the parent thunderstorm, heavy rain and hail, and the darkness of night are all factors that can reduce the visibility of tornadoes. Tornadoes occurring in these conditions are especially dangerous, since only weather radar observations, or possibly the sound of an approaching tornado, serve as any warning to ...
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