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Wild Winds: Twisters, Tornados, Dust Devils, Whirlwinds & Waterspouts

rather reminiscent of various eye-witness reports of 'flying haystacks', the 'wool roller' and such like...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36837219
West Sussex dust devil: Farm's hay sent into spin
A farmer has captured video pictures of hay being lifted into the air by a swirling wind.
Tim Bargman shot the images of a dust devil at Canfields Farm, Rudgwick, West Sussex.
His wife Sarah said dust devils were quite common on the farm, but could not usually be seen.
The BBC Weather Centre said they could occur anywhere there was warm air and a slight breeze.
 
Very interesting. Thanks for posting that. A tiny bit eerie too I thought.
 
I've seen these a few times, on farms, especially within large enclosures. Strips of torn fertiliser sacks, feathers, crop debris and dust give these pneumanifestations a solidity and presense that's scary as hell, now, in the 21st century.

If I was a 12th century peasant, I might need to burn down a few villages, or invade a few neighbouring counties, following a sign like this. Nowadays people grab for Twitter and Facebook, not so long ago it would've been tarry torches, pitchforks and swords.....
 
I've seen these a few times, on farms, especially within large enclosures. Strips of torn fertiliser sacks, feathers, crop debris and dust give these pneumanifestations a solidity and presense that's scary as hell, now, in the 21st century.

If I was a 12th century peasant, I might need to burn down a few villages, or invade a few neighbouring counties, following a sign like this. Nowadays people grab for Twitter and Facebook, not so long ago it would've been tarry torches, pitchforks and swords.....

Yeah!!!!! Let's burn Twitter!!!
 
Oh, I've a particular fondness for dust devils and leaf devils! :) There are Native American and some African legends that say they are wandering spirits.

In West Texas, you can see lots of them in the fields, these red dust funnels tooling up and down the furrows. The ones around here are usually white, so they do look a bit like ghosts.
 
Huge waterspout pictured swirling above stormy skies over Suffolk
Telegraph Reporters
31 July 2016 • 2:11pm

Sky-spotters were stunned to capture photos of a dramatic waterspout in stormy skies over Suffolk.
Phil Hannam, a chef, was taking a break from the kitchen when he saw the intense vortex spiralling over the small village of Thorpeness.
Reinhard Olbrich also took a remarkable picture of the funnel-shaped cloud from a pub garden in the village on Saturday evening.

Although witnesses believed they had seen a tornado it was actually a waterspout, which is a type of funnel cloud that occurs over a body of water.
Mr Hannam and his colleagues at The Kitchen at Thorpeness restaurant were stunned to see it circling over their village, which is near the coast.

Restaurant manager Amy Youngs said: "It was muggy and stormy yesterday and we had all sorts of weather, but we've never seen a tornado over Suffolk before.
"We were stunned when Phil came back and showed us the photo on his mobile phone."

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...red-swirling-above-stormy-skies-over-suffolk/

Two brilliant photos on page. Thorpeness is just north of Aldeburgh. It has the north sea to the east, and a body of fresh water, the Meare, to the SW. http://www.visit-aldeburgh.co.uk/destinations/the-meare-thorpeness
 
The BBC version of the Suffolk waterspout (different photos and video):
'Amazing' waterspout off Suffolk coast

A waterspout spiralling above the sea in Suffolk provided a stunning sight on Saturday.

The weather phenomenon, which is similar to a tornado, could be seen swirling off the coast around Thorpeness and Aldeburgh.

Jackie Butler, of Leiston, watched the waterspout while walking her dogs on Sizewell beach on Saturday evening.
"All of a sudden we could see there was a spout coming down into the water," she said.
"It literally drew the water up into itself and continued for 30 minutes and then stopped. As we stood and watched it, it reformed again.
"It was amazing, absolutely amazing."
Meteorologist and BBC Look East weather forecaster Dan Holley said: "Essentially a waterspout is just a tornado but over water.
"Both begin life as a funnel cloud - a rotating column of air underneath a shower or thunderstorm - which, once it's extended to the ground becomes a tornado if it's on land, or named a waterspout if over water.

"On Saturday we had a line of wind convergence where northwesterly winds inland met an easterly sea breeze from the North Sea.
"Where the two opposing winds meet, the air gets forced upwards to create showers, and with a little spin can occasionally create funnel clouds."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-36941468
 
Tornado or twister captured passing Falmouth in these amazing pictures
By WBgdavies | Posted: October 12, 2016

15612358-large.jpg

Ruth Littlejohn's image of the suspected tornado

A tornado or twister has been spotted passing Falmouth bay this morning. Several people in the town have reported sightings of the weather phenomenon whirling across the bay today.

Ruth Littlejohns was returning from the school run when she spotted it. She grabbed her camera and took pictures from her home above Gyllyngvase Beach before rushing to the headland to watch it.

"I have never seen a tornado before, it was quite special," she the businesswoman who runs Sames and Littlejohns branding and design studio. "My little boy is off sick and its not a bad day to be off to be able to see his first tornado.


tornado1.jpg


"I had come home and looked out and thought, is that a tornado forming? It was forming out to sea and moving across the coast slowly. It was going into a funnel, a curve and went behind the houses so I ran to the headland and took a picture.

"It was coming inland, formed the cone and then went back again. There was a dog walker there who also thought it was a tornado."

A spokesman for the Met Office said the images were inconclusive but he thought the sighting could have been one of a funnel cloud rather than a tornado. He said: "This looks like a funnel cloud. The cloud has to reach the ground to be classed as a tornado."

Another Falmouth resident called the West Briton this morning to report seeing the twister too. He said: "It was about 15 or 20 miles out, travelling westward. I was looking out towards the coast across Swanpool. I got three or four photos and it seemed to be getting larger and getting closer towards Land's End way."

etc...

tornado6.jpg


http://www.westbriton.co.uk/has-a-tornado-hit-falmouth/story-29800947-detail/story.html

I had a weather-related curiousity about 30 min ago. The sky was very dark, then suddenly my table lamp flashed off and then back on. I suspected lightning, although I didn't see the flash or hear thunder. Then I found my internet connection was down - it came back after maybe ten minutes, but it seemed longer...
 
Watch dust-devil sends hay flying through Leicestershire field.

A farmer said it was "a real spectacle" when his neat rows of hay, which were ready for bailing, started flying in the air.

James Ludlam, farmer at Cattows Farm, in Heather, Leicestershire, said the whirlwind travelled the length of the field last Wednesday afternoon.

"I have seen them on a smaller scale, but I have never seen anything take it that high in the sky. It is the biggest one I have seen in at least 20 years," he added.

BBC weather expert Emma Boorman said it was not a tornado, as there would be cloud to the ground. However, she said this looked like a form of "dust devil" but with hay. (c) BBC 2017.
 
That looks surreal.
 
That must be a whirlwind rather than a tornado (albeit a very strong one!)
 
Thats some sort of parachute, or huge sheet, oh, you mean the wind is giving it the shape oops, i sit corrected
 
I was looking at the farmers one and this song came to mind

 
Oh, I've a particular fondness for dust devils and leaf devils! :) There are Native American and some African legends that say they are wandering spirits.

In West Texas, you can see lots of them in the fields, these red dust funnels tooling up and down the furrows. The ones around here are usually white, so they do look a bit like ghosts.

They are common in the Mojave, as well, and weird to behold as they travel across the sandy mesas. As slight as they can look from the distance, you sure feel it when they go over your house!

A great place to see a half-dozen dust devils at a time is in Mojave Trails National Monument, along old Route 66 or Amboy road. Some of them will wander around the desert many miles away for 10 minutes at a time, wreaking havoc through the sand and creosote and quail nests!
 
This seems to be the most appropriate thread for posting this ...

It's a report (with video) of a 'snownado' - a dust devil kicking up powdery snow rather than earthen dust ...

Ohio couple capture snownado footage in countryside
A couple driving through the Ohio countryside captured video of an unusual event -- a snownado whirlwind whipping snow through the air.

‎Kristin Ashalee Mattox posted a video to Facebook showing what she witnessed while driving through the countryside near Coshocton.

The video shows a snownado, aka a snow devil -- a whirlwind spinning snow like a mini tornado.

"We saw a Snownado or a Snow Devil today on our way home from Coshocton, OH on SR 83!!" Mattox wrote. "According to the Internet these are very rare and only a handful have ever been caught on camera!! Very cool!!!"

SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2018/0.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=4

Directly Linked YouTube Video:

 
Here's an interesting variation, illustrating a single whirlwind clothing itself in different 'elements' ...

A wildfire on the bank of the Colorado River in California generates a 'firenado' (whirlwind amidst flames). As the vortex intensifies and refines itself into a well-defined funnel it drifts out over the river and continues as a waterspout.
Firenado turns into waterspout in the Colorado River
An Arizona couple captured video of a firenado that swept across the Colorado River and turned into a waterspout.

The video, captured Saturday by Chris and Anne Mackie, shows a brush fireacross the river near Blythe, Calif., spawning a swirling firenado.

The whirlwind moves out toward the water, where it becomes a waterspout.

The unusual sight grabs the attention of nearby boaters and water skiers, who can be seen stopping to gawk at the whirlwind.

SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2018/0.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2

VIDSO:

 
A twister in Surrey.

A tornado tore through Surrey on Saturday as severe weather and nearly 100 flood warnings were predicted to bring yet more Christmas travel chaos.

Residents in the town of Chertsey and Shepperton described hearing a sound like a plane taking off as fences, tree branches and garden furniture was hurled through the air. The whirlwind, which lasted just over a minute, forced cars on the M25 to come to a halt as debris was strewn across the motorway carriages. Entire trees were torn from the ground, car windows smashed and there were even reports of vans being blown over by the blast.

The Meteorological Office issued a radar image showing a “heavy shower” said to have contributed to the conditions required for a tornado to be formed.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...rrey-towns-britain-faces-miserable-christmas/
 
Barton-On-Sea nearly becomes Barton in the sea.

A night-time "tornado" caused a trail of destruction when it struck coastal villages in Hampshire.

People in Barton-on-Sea and Ashley were woken by howling winds and lashing rain in the early hours of Friday. Homes were damaged, fencing was flattened and a 6ft-high (1.8m) brick wall was brought down.

Dave Thorne, from Barton, described the noise as "really, scarily loud". BBC Weather presenter Simon King said radar images supported the tornado claims. Mr Thorne said he heard an "almighty crash" and his window frames broke inward at about 04:00 GMT.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-51147273
 
Here's a case from India. A dust devil sprouts up suddenly, it grows to daunting size, people scatter, and the dust devil dissipates - all in just a few seconds.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a dust devil of this size pop up and fade out so fast. The video is available at the link.
Dust devil interrupts sports day event at India college

A college sports day at an Indian school was interrupted by a dust devil that sprouted on the volleyball court.

Witnesses at St. Berchmans College in Kottayam captured video Tuesday when the volleyball game, part of the school's college sports day event, was interrupted by a whirlwind whipping sand up through the air.

Students are seen running for cover in the video as the dust devil sweeps across the area.

The witnesses said the dust devil dissipated after only a few seconds.
SOURCE (With Video): https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/0...ay-event-at-India-college/6311581706685/?sl=5
 
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