Probably most of you know what “dust devils” are, or think you do. Those temporary whirlwinds that pop up in open spaces when conditions are right, yes? We even had a few of them in Maryland, but I’ve never experienced anything before like the ones we have here.
One day two summers ago I was sitting peacefully at my desk like I am now. It was a calm, warm, sunny day, and all the doors and windows were open. All of a sudden — and I mean like WHAM! — there was about 10 seconds of blasting wind and horizontal dust flying past. The event was over very quickly, but all the heavy lawn furniture outside was overturned, and also the dumpster. That was okay, if startling, but the kitchen, ye gods…
It was as if someone had blasted several gallons of fine sand through the small ventilation window over the stove! Every possible horizontal surface was covered with the stuff: counter, floor, stove, frying pans, the top of the refrigerator, inside glasses sitting on an open shelf, you name it. It took me hours to get the joint back in shape. The bathroom had similar deposits of sand, but not so much and only in the tub. The front door was wide open, but amazingly, nothing blew in through that opening.
Very weird all around, so when someone mentions “dust devils” in the context of New Mexico (and Australia, too, I’ll bet!), you’d better be prepared for anything.
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