A dust devil, a form of short-lived whirlwind, struck Sandown beach late last week (Friday), sending parasoles and sunloungers over 20ft into the air, with one beachgoer saying, “my little girl legged it under the pier”.
A dust devil is a strong, well-formed and relatively short-lived whirlwind that can reach sizes of up to 1km tall and are incrediably rare to see in the UK, with summers not usually providing such a period of prolonged dryness that dust devils need to form.
Pebbles Cafe in Sandown caught a glimpse of the dust devil, also known as a ‘willy willy ‘, on their CCTV, which they shared on Facebook. The footage shows the terrifying moment the phenomenon moved across the portion of the beach to the left of the pier, sending parasols and sunloungers flying through the air – destroying much of what stood in its path.
Witnesses took to the comments of the social media post describing the scary scene.
One said:
“We were right in the middle of it! So strange and scary! Umbrellas being snapped into bits and loungers thrown 20 feet into the air!”
Whilst another said:
“We were right near it, and my little girl legged it under the pier! Was quite scary and happened so fast outta the blue – never EVER seen that before!”
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Whilst in some parts of the world, such as the American Southwest States like Arizona, New Mexico and California, as well as global deserts like Africa and Australia, as well as parts of India and even Mars, Willy Willies are prevalent, the UK has had a very small number of reported sightings.
Dust Devils rely on arid, flat and open terrain such as that of an Australian desert; they occur when intense sun heats the ground and the shallow layer of air sitting on top. From here, the intensely heated air rises quickly through the cooler air, creating an updraft; surface winds then play their part by rushing in from the sides, twisting the rising air into a spinning column.
Often resembling mini-tornadoes, dust devils are nowhere near as powerful or destructive; however, on 13th September 2000, a dust devil formed at the Coconino County Fairgrounds in Arizona caused property damage and injuries, bringing winds as high as 75 mph.
In another rare incident, a bouncy castle that contained 3 children at the time was carried over 10 feet in east El Paso, Texas.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported as a result of the natural phenomenon.
