Interesting video

[Brian A. Schmidt]

I just happened to come across this video and thought I'd put it on here. I apologize if everyone's already seen it. Its amazing how intense this tiny vortex is, and kinda funny how it wanders around the parking lot. Check out the close ups of it contacting with the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwKc7H5gIWo&feature=related

 

[Billy Griffin]

Yeah, that's great video..... um, that's been sped up.
Nice dust devil anyway. I always like watching these... especially those giants in the Southwest.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Sped up or not, that's a darn sweet video!

 

[Brian A. Schmidt]

Yeah, I never really gave it much thought, but its obviously been sped up. Even so, the narrow diameter of the vortex and the pinpoint where it contacts the ground is pretty interesting. I'm sure it had some power. We get them in southern KY but you can't see them-- only their effects. I once watched one of these move through a cemetary and it picked up a fairly heavy plastic wreath and quickly carried it upwards about 50-75 feet. Weird.

 

[Jim Leonard]

I don't really think this is sped up. I've seen quite a few when chasing some of them in Arizona. If you get a real close view of a tight dustdevel like this one you will notice that they are really quite intense and can spin really fast.

 

[Simon Andersen]

I believe it just seems like it has been sped up because of the camera recording with a high shutter speed. Look at the people moving in the background, their movement seems natural to me. I've seen numerous, realtime videoclips of dust devils approaching the rotational windspeed displayed here. Windspeeds exceeding 100mph have been meassured in dust devils by scientific equipment. One dust devil, wich damaged a storage yard, had inferred winds approaching 150 mph. LOVE dust devils though, thanks for the link.

 

[Dann Cianca]

Damn, I was really hoping for a mud puddle waterspout.

 

[David Drummond]

It's not sped up. For one thing if it was the camera movement would be much more noticeable since it's handheld and they are walking around. I see them out here on the caprock like that all the time. Usually a lot bigger. I saw one one day I actually chased it for 20 minutes across the fields. I was royally pissed I didn't have my camera with me because it looked like a miniature version of the last tornado in Twister. It was probably a good 30 feet across.

If you ever have a down day out chasing in May and it's hot, you'll find plenty of them around the Lubbock area.