(Above: A Dust Devil rips through Talladega)
TALLADEGA, Ala. — An interesting weather phenomenon called a Dust Devil was caught on a camera phone tossing some tailgating supplies around at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday.
Alabama meteorologist James Spann explained to Yellowhammer Monday how exactly a Dust Devil occurs.
“A dust devil is a ground-based vortex that is usually found on sunny, warm (or hot) days near an updraft column in dry air,” Spann said. “If there is enough veering of the wind with altitude, the updraft can begin to rotate. And, as the updraft continues to increase with altitude, it causes intensification of the spinning effect by conservation of angular momentum.
“No thunderstorms are involved, and no warnings are issued. Dust devils are usually harmless, although stronger ones can bring wind gusts to over 30 mph.
“Conditions were perfect yesterday… thankfully the “bark” was worse than the ‘bite.’”
More than 100,000 showed up in Talladega Sunday to witness the GEICO 500. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race, his sixth Sprint Cup series victory. Other than the quick Dust Devil, the weather was flawless, at a cloudless 79 degrees, with a slight breeze.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
