Vortices

[edcrater]

I would like to describe 2 experiences of vortices that I had previously assumed to 'mechanical', but which I now see as probably 'electrical'.

1. The summer of 1976 in the UK was a record breaker; the longest, hottest, most consistent high-pressure summer on record. The day it ended was a day of spectacular thunderstorms, torrential rain, hail, the lot. That day, I climbed Snowdon, which is an easy 3000 ft mountain in Wales. It was a clear blue day, and very hot. It was so hot, and predictably like the previous 100 very hot days, that girls were climbing in boots and bikinis, but we won't go further into that. There was a fight over drinking water at the top, as people were desperate. Military helicopters cruised the paths, picking up cases of sunstroke, and undoubtedly keep a close watch on the bikini-mountaineers.

It was that sort of day.

Near the summit, there is a ridge with a path alongside, and in places the rocks are knife-edge, pointing upwards. It was here that I saw a 'dust-devil', which is rare in the UK. I didn't know then that it was 'dust-devil', but thought perhaps it was a small 'whirlwind'. It was lifting quite gritty dust to height of about 5 ft, and had a diameter of about 1 ft. I stood next to it, and, had I thought, I could have put my hand in it. At the time, I marvelled at it because the day was absolutely still. Not a breath of wind, even at 3000 ft. There was not even breeze to provide cooling relief, let alone to lift dust. But at the time, I put it down to 2 undetectable winds from different directions, 'meeting at the ridge', and swirling.

Now I assume it was electrical, as the charge was building to drive the later thunderstorms. They broke 3 hours later, just as I had descended and was swimming in Llanberis Lake.


2. A much bigger vortex occurred on a beach in Spain.

Again, it was a clear blue day, and no wind. Sailboats in the water were becalmed, and flags on poles outside the hotels drooped, motionless. Human bodies, equally motionless, lay on loungers, soaking up the heat. I was one.

Out of nowhere came an horrendous sandstorm. There was just time to grab one's possessions, hold them tightly and hang on to the lounger, eyes fiercely closed. The violence of it was as terrifying as the suddenness. For about 1 minute, it was total devastation, and then it was gone. The chaos was unimaginable. Possessions were everywhere, mothers were retrieving screaming children, blinded by the sand, and people were checking for casualties. The main problem had been the beach umbrellas, which had been ripped out of the sand and had been charging around in the vortex, with their pointed ends aiming to skewer anyone in the way.

And throughout the incident, the boats and flags remained as before. It was an incredibly localized event. Perhaps only 50 meters diameter, with nothing happening outside that 'bubble'.

At the time I assumed it was 'a vortex from the sky', which had descended, touched down, wreaked havoc, and then 'lifted off again'. But that theory always suffered from the fact that it was a blue day, with no 'action' going on up there to start the vortex.

Now it appears to me that it was electrically driven; a localized discharge driving the wind. But I still find it amazing how it could be so powerful and yet so confined.