A burst of wind--what Mike Zarnek decribes in his e-mail to us as a "mini-twister"---descended on the Des Plaines Canoe Marathon Sunday. Check out Mike's photos. Let me share with you what he had to say about this in his e-mail account of the event:
"I was at the Des Plaines Canoe Marathon today (5/17/09) taking pictures and as I was standing near a tent a "mini-twister" or micro burst came roaring through right in front of me and tore up the tents.
I happened to have my camera at the ready and fired off a series of shots capturing the series of events.
The canoes in the background started to lift off the ground and people where yelling to "sit in the canoes" to keep them from taking off.
No one was injured."
We're glad to hear that Mike! A fascinating event. Differential heating helps set these atmospheric swirls into motion. As one surface heats in the sun, the air above it heats and begins ascending. The in rushing air begins to rotate and sets into motion what you witnessed. Often, such vorticies aren't as strong as the one you witnessed. But there are many instances when they are and dust devils result. You had what amounts to a dust devil--without a lot of dust. No doubt the moist ground from all the recent rain held down the level of dust which Sunday's winds there might otherwise have sent airborne. THANKS, Mike for a fascinating account of the event and for the terrific pictures!
-Tom Skilling
"I was at the Des Plaines Canoe Marathon today (5/17/09) taking pictures and as I was standing near a tent a "mini-twister" or micro burst came roaring through right in front of me and tore up the tents.
I happened to have my camera at the ready and fired off a series of shots capturing the series of events.
The canoes in the background started to lift off the ground and people where yelling to "sit in the canoes" to keep them from taking off.
No one was injured."
We're glad to hear that Mike! A fascinating event. Differential heating helps set these atmospheric swirls into motion. As one surface heats in the sun, the air above it heats and begins ascending. The in rushing air begins to rotate and sets into motion what you witnessed. Often, such vorticies aren't as strong as the one you witnessed. But there are many instances when they are and dust devils result. You had what amounts to a dust devil--without a lot of dust. No doubt the moist ground from all the recent rain held down the level of dust which Sunday's winds there might otherwise have sent airborne. THANKS, Mike for a fascinating account of the event and for the terrific pictures!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy of Mike Zarnek, Mount Prospect, Illinois
