On Monday, Jennifer Scott was driving home with her children and one of their friends in Linn County, Oregon when they came across a dust devil. The dust devil, which had picked up hay on its path, made for a spectacular sight until it started approaching closer.
“I thought, ‘wow, that looks really big,’ so I started slowing down and realized how big it was,” Scott told ABC-affiliate KOMO News. She was driving on Goltra Road when she spotted the large dust devil about a mile away.
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Not knowing how strong the winds were, Scott decided to stop and asked her children to roll up their windows.
The so-called “haynado” came closer and eventually swirled over Scott’s truck, pelting it with hay and straw.
“A dust devil is caused by warm air at the surface rising into cooler air above it,” explained Global News Meteorologist Ross Hull. “If the right atmospheric conditions are in place then that column of air begins to rotate and dust devil forms.”
“What’s fascinating about this video is we seem to be witnessing the dust devil reach its peak intensity with warmer air rushing in and helping to propel it forward,” Hull added.
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Most dust devils do not cause serious damage. Scott said the bed of her truck was filled with hay after the dust devil passed, but added that she and the kids loved the experience.
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