Dust devil causes minor damage in Marshall County, KY Sunday

On Sunday afternoon, a dust devil occurred near Draffenville, Kentucky. Some minor damage occurred. A National Weather Service meteorologist surveyed the damage. The following is the preliminary report on this dust devil:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
429 PM CDT SUN APR 17 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 PM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 2 W DRAFFENVILLE        36.94N 88.38W
04/17/2016                   MARSHALL           KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            A DUST DEVIL PRODUCED DAMAGE ALONG A 200-250 YD PATH THAT
            WAS 50 YDS WIDE. SEVERAL TREE BRANCHES...UP TO 3.5 INCHES
            WIDE WERE BROKEN...A TRAMPOLINE WAS FLIPPED AND LANDED
            25-30 FT TO THE NORTHWEST...AND SECTIONS OF A METAL ROOF
            WERE STRIPPED FROM A BARN. THE DAMAGE OCCURRED UNDER
            CLEAR SKIES ALONG FOUST SLEDD ROAD JUST WEST OF
            DRAFFENVILLE.

Dust devils typically occur on sunny, warm days during the spring and summer. They are more common in the dry climates out west, but they can occur almost anywhere. They occur when the ground becomes much warmer than the air immediately above it. They typically last only a few minutes, and they rarely cause minor damage to trees and outbuildings. A video of a particularly strong dust devil in northeast Arkansas last summer is available on the NWS Memphis Facebook site.