ok. now i see leaves spin in circles all the time. that aint considered a tornado is it. well what is it then

Question

i see them all the time when their are leaves on the ground and it is kinda windy outside. what is that called.

Answer 1

The proper name for these is "vortice". They are caused by horizontal wind shears at the Earth's surface and are among the smallest wind circulations in nature. They are present even when they are not made visible by swirling leaves or dust. They have very little vertical strength, but may be as much as a couple yards or so in horizontal scale. They are part of what is called micro-meteorology.

Answer 2

I know what you are talking about. From what I have seen, that can be up against a building, or something like that. I think the situation is often that the air is enclosed somewhat, and it just swirls because of the way the wind going around the building interacts with it. Dust devils, however, are similar to tornadoes, although not on anywhere near the scale, usually. A little swirl of leaves is probably not. If it occurs in the same place, and doesn't move around, that is probably the best sign that it is not caused by hot air rising or cool air sinking, like a tornado or a dust devil.

However, all of these phenomena, as well as hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons, the tropical storms that are similar but weaker, whirpools, and any other swirling fluids, are properly called vortices (singular: vortex).

Answer 3

What you saw is a dust devil. They usually take place in the middle of the day when the ground reaches it's maximum temperature. This heats the air up quickly, and since warm air rises, an updraft occurs. Horizontal winds can then collide with the updraft, and that causes it to spin around. The dust devil then picks up debris, and in your case, leaves. They are pretty weak and don't normally exceed 15 feet in diameter, but have been known to knock over cats and small dogs.
Dust devils form in basically the same way as a tornado, but are a lot smaller.
Have a great day!

Answer 4

We grew up calling them Dust Devils....they are like mini tornados that pick up anything light.....even leaves and trash.

Answer 5

might be a dust devil. I think there are many names for that depending on the area. native peoples also gave them names. depends where you live.

Answer 6

A whirling dervish.

Answer 7

It's the wind. There is not special name for it. It's just the wind that swirls in that spot.

Answer 8

It's called a "whirlwind" or a "vortex" ... I hope this helps.