Casey Wilson wrote:
Dust devils on the other hand, while they may begin at convective
sources, are cyclonic whirlwinds that travel laterally across the ground,
sometimes for miles. DDs in our area are typically less than five meters in
diameter. One monster dust devil that went across a portable weather station
at the Naval Air Warfare Center spun the anemometer over 80 knots before it
ripped the mast apart. We watched that one travel about ten miles. On
another occasion, a monster went across a mobile home park and took the roof
off a home and dissassembled tool sheds like card houses.

Yeah, those are the kind of dust devils I look for 8^)

I remember one I saw in a valley north of Tonopah, when I was down low
looking for lift. It had one huge central column and six smaller ones
twisting around it. I could see huge pieces of sagebrush literally
getting blown out of its path. I pulled into it at roughly 1500 feet
AGL, and centered a 14 knot climb with dust and twigs flying all around
me. I was at 18000 feet in what seemed like a moment. Even at that
altitude, there was plenty of dust, and looking down into was like
looking into the maw of a huge snake that stretched all the way back
down to the ground.

You don't know what you're missing 8^)

Marc