Dust Devil
On Friday afternoon, a spectacular weather phenomenon formed at Upper-Sure Lake, taking swimmers at Lultzhausen beach by surprise. A powerful gust of wind rose and began to swirl, carrying various objects away in its path.
Meteolux confirmed it was not a tornado. It was a dust devil, a type of whirlwind laden with dust. These phenomena form in clear weather and high temperatures, and they are almost always highly localized and very short-lived.
They begin at ground level as the surface heats up intensely. When dust is swept into the vortex, the result can be impressive. Meteorologist Luca Mathias explained that this type of whirlwind is not dangerous and generally lasts only a few seconds.
A similar phenomenon was observed several years ago by the lake in Weiswampach and at Findel during construction of the tram. As global warming intensifies, dust devils could become more frequent.