STORM2K

"TRENTON, N.D. - A whirlwind carried a trampoline about 60 feet and over a fence as a 4-year-old girl was jumping on it, knocking her unconscious, witnesses told police.

Grace Hove suffered a broken arm in three places, a fractured pelvis, dislocated jaw and bruises to a lung and kidney in Sunday's incident, said her mother, Rae Hove.

"She's expected to make a full recovery," Rae Hove said Monday. "She's doing very well. Thank God. It could have been worse.""


More:Grand Forks Herald - Report: Whirlwind picks up trampoline; knocks girl unconscious

wow! This has to be one of the first dust devil injuries I have ever heard of. Any word on how strong the winds were with it?

Wind speeds probably weren't higher than 60 mph, if that; trampolines make darn good sails if given the chance. After doing a little bit of research (quick NCDC search), there have been 6 injury-producing dust devils in the US since 1995, not including the one Sunday in ND.

1995: Greene County NY - 4 Injuries
1997: Rutherford County TN - 2 Injuries
2001: Monroe County PA - I Injury
2002: Los Alamos NM - 1 Injury
2003: Missoula County MT - 3 Injuries
2004: Des Moines IA - 5 Injuries

EDIT: and in 2003, a killer dust devil struck York County ME.
http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~504399

A couple of images of dust devils

SamSagnella wrote:Wind speeds probably weren't higher than 60 mph, if that; trampolines make darn good sails if given the chance. After doing a little bit of research (quick NCDC search), there have been 6 injury-producing dust devils in the US since 1995, not including the one Sunday in ND.

1995: Greene County NY - 4 Injuries
1997: Rutherford County TN - 2 Injuries
2001: Monroe County PA - I Injury
2002: Los Alamos NM - 1 Injury
2003: Missoula County MT - 3 Injuries
2004: Des Moines IA - 5 Injuries

EDIT: and in 2003, a killer dust devil struck York County ME.
http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~504399

wow...a killer dust devil? I also did some research and found some dust devils can have winds up to hurricane force (the same as an F1 tornado). I wonder if they have ever issued a warning based on the fact that a dust devil was doing damage?

Dust devils are short lived but yes they can get up to F1 intensity. Strongest Devil I have measured at the house had 69 mph winds while one totally destroyed a neighbor's Garden Shed.

Steve

Wow..