Talk:Gustnado

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We just had a very good example of a gustnado yesterday (July 31, 2005) in Vail, Arizona. Vail is a small community at the southeast edge of metropolitan Tucson. We all thought it was a tornado, but meteorologists were split: one declared it to be a big dust devil, while another declared it to be a gustnado.

I'm with the second meteorologist. I've never seen a dust devil kick up during a storm in Arizona. They occur on hot, dry days PRIOR to our monsoon, not right in the middle of a monsoon rain in progress. But then again, I've never seen a gustnado before, either.

To see good pictures, follow this link to the site of the meteorologist claiming it to be a dust devil: http://www.kvoa.com/

Paul Allvin Vail, Arizona

That was a gustnado if it was produced in the outflow winds gushing away from a storm. Dust devils form in air strongly heated by sunshine.

[edit] Terms

A few handy references for terms are:

• AMS Glossary of Meteorology
• NWS Glossary
• A Comprehensive Glossary of Weather Terms for Storm Spotters (NWS)

Evolauxia 01:40, 28 March 2007 (UTC)