Watch a Huge Dust Devil Chew Up the Dirt in a Missouri Farm Field
I've never seen a tornado, but I've been near a few. I prefer the much less dangerous type of wind events which is why I love this huge dust devil that was captured on video chewing up the dirt in a Missouri farm field.
Saw this awesome vortex captured by Justin on Twitter. This is one of the bigger dust devils I recall ever seeing. This one would mess up your hair a bit if it hit you. This happened in Pascola, Missouri.
Pascola, Missouri is a tiny village way south in Missouri and by "way south" I mean south of even Cape Girardeau which is way south itself.
By the way, don't underestimate the damage a dust devil can do. As Wikipedia documents, a strong dust devil can do real property damage and has even caused deaths in the past. No, it's not common, but it does happen. As the Wikipedia page says they do share "a vertically oriented rotating column of wind" with tornadoes, but the big twisters are part of a larger mesocyclone system which is where the terror begins. It doesn't appear this dust devil in Missouri did any damage, but it is an impressive (and relatively safe) display of nature's potential wind fury.