Dust Devil Spotted In Qala: How Do They Form?

Over the weekend, local interviewer and presenter Trudy Kerr shared footage of a dust devil spotted in Qala, Gozo.

Local weather page it-Temp Madwarna picked this up and explained how such a weather phenomenon forms.

On a sunny and calm day, the weather page explained, the ground warms quickly and the hot aid close to the surface starts to push upwards.

If disturbances such as gusts of wind or non-uniform heating with pockets of cold air take place, the air spirals upwards.

This phenomenon becomes visible once material from the ground is picked up. These dust devils can reich heights of 30 to 200 metres, but some can reach up to around 1km!

They can also last up to a number of minutes, with winds reaching 40 to 100km/h.

Have you ever spotted one?

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