A cyclone of dust was spied spinning around the top of the ravine by McNally High School in central Edmonton on Tuesday afternoon.
The mini twister, referred to scientifically as a dust devil, was only a few feet across, but rose high into the sky, the only strange weather on an otherwise sunny afternoon.
Global Edmonton’s chief meteorologist Jesse Beyer said these types of air columns are created in weather conditions like those that have been seen over the past few days.
“Dust devils are a rotating column of air typical of hot and dry conditions,” Beyer said. “Once the spin-up begins, the air is stretched vertically and intensifies in speed.
“This particular case was likely caused by the hot heat beating down on the dusty ball diamond. The dirt absorbed much more heat and at a faster rate than the surrounding grassy/treed area.”
Although the dust devil swirling around the area did not generate enough speed to cause any harm, Beyer said this is not always the case.
“Some dust devils have been documented with wind speeds of over 100 km/h in extreme cases and may cause some damage.”
Temperatures in the city reached a high of 28 C at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. A heat warning was issued for Edmonton on Monday afternoon.
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