A tornado made of fire. Seriously.

A tornado made of fire. Seriously.

A tornado made of fire. Seriously.

Bad Astronomy
The entire universe in blog form
Aug. 25 2010 10:01 AM

A tornado made of fire. Seriously.


OK, I pretty much thought I had seen it all.

Phil Plait Phil Plait




Holy Frak.

I guess this shouldn't be too surprising; after all, shear winds blowing over warm ground is how dust devils form, and what's warmer than ground with fire on it? In retrospect, actually, I'm surprised this event is as rare as it is! I see dust devils all the time, and heck, they even form on Mars.

Still, wow, a fire tornado! Amazing. And thank FSM for science. If I didn't understand why something like this could form and I saw it headed for me, I imagine I'd be looking -- running -- for the nearest shaman.

Tip o' the fireman's helmet to Fark.