CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Valley is no stranger to dust devils, but this one was a doozy!
12 News Weather Watcher Corinna Cruse Joy captured a dramatic dust devil over the Memorial Day weekend near Riggs and Gilbert roads in the East Valley.
Dust devil diameters range from 10 to 300 feet wide with an average height of 500 to 1000 feet. Winds inside whip up to around 45 mph but can spike at speeds greater than 60 mph in larger dust devils.
These spin-ups can last just a few minutes or as much as an hour.
See the huge dust devil Joy captured here:
EN ESPAÑOL: Captan en video un enorme remolino en Chandler
How to find a dust devil:
Keep an eye out for dust devils on sunny days when the intense sunshine heats the ground.
The ground heats up much more efficiently than the air right above it. Hotter air is less dense and will want to rise. The upward rush of air may begin to rotate and as it gets stretched upward (think ice skater pulling arms in) its spin speeds up. As it's on the move across the landscape, it picks up dust and debris along the way.
You'll typically see them spin up around contrasting surfaces such as asphalt and dirt.
Even though they're not tornadoes, dust devils can still be very destructive as they suck up and spin dust and debris in the air. The whipping winds can even destroy small structures.
You'll typically have the most dust-devil sightings during the months of May and June between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sunshine is strongest since dust devil recipes call for warm, sunny weather with lighter winds.
You may think dust devils are just found in the desert but they've also been known to develop in the forests of the Mogollon Rim, according to the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.
An ideal spot to search for dust devils is in areas where watered fields or forest meadows meet up with parched, sun-scorched ground or dirt roads.
Arizona weather
Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state.