Dust Devils

[mizzbee]

Chasing tornadoes in the Mid USA is one of the activities on my bucket list, so seeing these mini tornadoes in the Kruger was incredibly exciting.

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I spent a good few minutes watching these dust devils rise, twirl, move forward quite rapidly and dissipate speedily only to reform within a second or two. All this while trying to keep a safe distance and out of possible harms way.

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Does anyone know how common this phenomenon is and have there ever been reports of animal deaths and or human accidents because of them.

[Elsa]

They are quite a common phenomenon in Summer, we have often seen them and certainly the ones we have witnessed would not have been strong enough to do any harm to animals or structures but do cause a lot of dust and flying debris.

[Meandering Mouse]

Very interesting Mizzbee.

I have seen a couple, mainly in the Satara area.

I have seen quite a few in the Free State and have once had my car badly rocked in the Karoo.

[hilda]

They are quite a common phenomenon in Summer, we have often seen them and certainly the ones we have witnessed would not have been strong enough to do any harm to animals or structures but do cause a lot of dust and flying debris.

I agree with what Elsa has said.

[Porridge]

Mizzbee, dust devils are a common occurrence in the warmer months especially in dry areas, and are generally small and quite weak. As opposed to tornadoes, these are actually whirlwinds which you could actually walk through (eyes and mouth closed, obviously). That said, they can get quite large, and these should be avoided as they are quite capable of doing damage.