whirlwind

whirlwind, a small-diameter columnar vortex of rapidly swirling air. A broad spectrum of vortices occurs in the atmosphere, ranging in scale from small eddies that form in the lee of buildings and topographic features to fire storms, waterspouts, and tornadoes. While the term whirlwind can be applied to any atmospheric vortex, it is commonly restricted to atmospheric systems that are smaller than tornadoes but larger than eddies of microscale turbulence. The generic whirlwind is usually modified to reflect the visible features associated with the whirl; thus there are dust whirls or dust devils, sand whirls or sand pillars, and fire, smoke, snow, and even hay whirls.

General features

At the centre of the whirlwind, atmospheric pressure is less than it is in the surrounding air, but the decrease is not large. Pressure drops of a few hectopascals (a few tenths of a pound per square inch) are typical in dust devils. (Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101 kilopascals, or 14.7 pounds per square inch.)

The axis of rotation in a whirlwind is usually vertical, but it may be inclined. In small whirls, the direction of rotation may be either clockwise or counterclockwise. In larger whirls, outside forces may dictate that one direction of rotation dominates.

Britannica Quiz

Facts You Should Know: Weather Quiz

A mature whirlwind may be divided into three vertical regions. Region 1 is a shallow boundary layer extending up a few tens of centimetres from the ground. It is here that air flows inward, sweeping dust and small detritus into the vortex core. Frictional effects are strong in this layer, limiting the inflow and so preventing the low-pressure core of the vortex from filling from below. Above the shallow boundary layer is Region 2, that of a stable vortex approaching cyclostrophic balance. Cyclostrophic balance is a dynamic equilibrium in which the inward-directed pressure-gradient force is balanced by the outward-directed centrifugal force, allowing air to flow readily around the vortex but not to move easily toward or away from the axis of circulation. Region 3 begins where the top of the vortex becomes destabilized and the turbulent air diffuses with height. Buoyancy forces are strong in Region 3, preventing the vortex core from filling from above. The upper end of a whirlwind almost always terminates in some form of strong convective phenomenon, usually an updraft. Occasionally a very strong dust devil that forms in relatively moist air will terminate in a convective cloud.

Dust devils

Perhaps the most ubiquitous whirlwind is the dust devil. It is likely that quite a few of these small vortices are present in the lowest several hundred metres of the atmosphere on many days, but only the rare ones that pick up detritus from the surface are seen. Certainly every summer, hundreds of thousands of dust devils form and travel across the arid and semiarid regions of the world. Observers report dust whirls almost daily during the hot season over the Sahara as well as the arid regions of Australia and the southwestern United States. They also are common over sections of India and the Middle East.

Dust devils occur most frequently under hot, clear-sky conditions with light winds. Such environments give rise to a strong heat flux from the hot surface of the Earth to the lowest layers of the atmosphere. This energy is absorbed by the atmosphere to produce a highly unstable layer near the ground. Release of the energy stored in this unstable layer leads to the formation of thermal plumes (large parcels of hot air rising from the surface). A dust devil draws on this stored energy to develop and then maintain itself. A light wind is required to start rotation in the rising plume. When dissipative forces, such as surface friction and eddy interaction with the environment, exceed the available energy, the whirlwind is destroyed.

The stability of the surface layer of the atmosphere does not depend on its actual temperature, but on the rate of change of temperature with height in the layer. Any process that produces an unstable surface layer can give rise to thermal plumes and to whirlwinds. This accounts for the sighting of dust devils and related whirls under temperate conditions and even in cool conditions such as those of the subarctic. Dust devils have even been observed on Mars, where temperatures are much colder than on Earth.

Are you a student?

Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.

Subscribe

This dependence on instability of the surface air layer is the reason dust devils are usually most active in the early afternoon, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. During this period the heated ground surface attains its peak temperature and, therefore, the surface layer its greatest instability.

Dust devils often appear in groups or series. Eleven of them were simultaneously sighted in Ethiopia. In the Mojave Desert in eastern California, a series of smaller whirls were seen following in the wake of a larger primary vortex. In India, such secondary vortices are sometimes called dancing devils. Such clusters of vortices are probably tied to a large thermal plume passing by.

The shape of the central core of the dust devil, as revealed by lofted dust, is normally that of a cylindrical column or an inverted cone. The diameter of the visible core can be anywhere from several centimetres to a few hundred metres. The diameter of the actual column of swirling air may be five to ten times greater than the diameter of the core. Dust devils have visible heights ranging from a few metres to at least 1,500 metres (4,900 feet, or 0.9 mile). This is probably not the upper limit on height. Sailplane pilots have used their upward-spiraling currents to soar to above 4,500 metres (15,000 feet, or 2.8 miles).

Though dust devils can last from several seconds to about seven hours, the duration of most is probably less than five minutes. Few persist for more than one hour. Larger, more vigorous whirls have a longer lifetime than smaller vortices. One large dust devil, with a height of about 750 metres (2,500 feet), persisted for seven hours as it traveled 64 km (40 miles) on salt flats in western Utah. In northwestern Mexico a large whirl reportedly formed at the end of an embankment and remained there for four hours. The life of a dust devil may be longer than visual observations indicate, because the vortex dynamics are independent of the materials borne aloft that make its presence obvious to the eye.

For many years, the wind speeds in dust devils were unknown. Observers’ reports indicated that vertical wind speeds were sufficiently strong to lift small objects, including jackrabbits. In recent years, researchers using probes, cameras, and videotape equipment have estimated the speeds in the vortex core. In moderately strong vortices, wind speeds of 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour) flowing around the centre of rotation have been measured and are probably common. Velocities of more than 80 km per hour (50 miles per hour) probably occur in some of the larger, more vigorous dust devils. Sailplane pilots have measured vertical speeds of 16 km per hour (10 miles per hour) in moderate whirls and 32 to 48 km per hour (20 to 30 miles per hour) in stronger vortices.