Strong Thermal in North Dakota

From the AP:

POSTED: 10:21 am EDT May 9, 2006

TRENTON, N.D. -- Swirling wind swept a trampoline into
the air and over a fence as a 4-year-old girl was jumping
on it, knocking her unconscious and breaking her arm
and pelvis, witnesses told police.

Grace Hove was hospitalized after Sunday's freak accident
with the broken bones as well as a dislocated jaw and
bruises to a lung and kidney, her mother said.

'She's expected to make a full recovery,' Rae Hove
said Monday. 'Thank God. It could have been worse.'

Witnesses, including two adults, reported the trampoline
was lifted as high as 25 feet, Sheriff's Capt. Bob
Stancel said.

'One man saw the whirlwind, then he saw the trampoline
fly up into his view,' Stancel said. 'He said it was
as high as the trees.'

The trampoline landed partly on a highway with the
girl pinned underneath, he said.

The swirling wind might have been a 'dust devil,' a
localized, spinning pocket of air, said Jim Assid,
a National Weather Service technician.

Such meteorological oddities can occur when air heated
by the ground rises rapidly through the cool air above
it, Assid said.

Dust devils as large as 10 feet wide and 13 miles tall
have been documented, he said.

At Caprock Soaring in West Texas, two weeks ago, we had a 1-26 picked
up and spun around, injuring it's owner. As I understand it, the wing
struck him in the head and knocked him to the runway. The glider came
down tail first and damaged the elevator, and drove the main gear up
into the fuselage. I did not inspect it further so I am not aware of
any other damage, except the canopy that was open at the time, and
didn't survive.

Let's be careful out there! The best thing to do if you're in this
situation is to hit the ground away from the glider. Gliders repair a
lot less painfully than people.

Regards.

Jack Womack
PIK-20B N77MA (TE)