dust devil
Noun
Meaning
a miniature whirlwind strong enough to whip dust and leaves and litter into the air
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Antonyms
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A dust devil, fully formed, is a funnel-like chimney through which hot air moves, both upwards and in a circle.
As available extreme hot air near the surface is channeled up the dust devil, eventually surrounding cooler air will be sucked in. Once this occurs, the effect is dramatic, and the dust devil dissipates in seconds.
Dusty or sandy conditions will cause particles to become caught up in the vortex, making the dust devil easily visible.
Dust devil main 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).
Dust devil main A dust devil (also known as a whirlwind) resembles a tornado in that it is a vertical swirling column of air.
In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder lander detected a dust devil passing over it. citation citation In the image shown here, photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor, the long dark streak is formed by a moving swirling column of Martian atmosphere.