Tornado Touchdown in Western Massachusetts?
If you were in North Adams early Friday evening, (thankfully I was not) you know the weather was insane. We're talking 4 to 5 inches of rain, hail, flooding, and the one that caught my eye is what looked like a tornado? Or should I say possibly a dust devil.
Looking at the picture, the average person can right away think that a tornado made touchdown. Even though I did hear some say that it was EF-0 Tornado, but I can't confirm 100% if it's true or not. Hense why most people are calling it a dust devil.
What is a dust devil?
According to en.wikipedia.org, A dust devil (also known regionally as a dirt devil) is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (more than 10 m wide and more than 1 km tall). The primary vertical motion is upward. The good news is Dust devils are usually harmless but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat to both people and property.
They are also comparable to producing tornadoes in that are weather phenomenon which involves a vertical oriented rotating column of wind. Most tornadoes are associated with a larger parent circulation, the mesocyclone on the back of a supercell thunderstorm. Dust devils form as a swirling updraft under sunny conditions during fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.
So, what do you think? Did North Adams see a Tornado or a dust devil? I'll let you decide on our station app.
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