Dust devil sends chairs flying at softball game in southern Alberta

A junior high science teacher was watching his daughter's softball game Saturday when he caught a wild video of a dust devil sweeping through the field.

Kendall Hardy said it was a clear day, without wind, when a pocket of hot air collided with a cold mass. The dust devil formed near a truck in the parking lot near the ball diamond in Vulcan, Alta.

He said he initially thought it was just a regular small whirlwind, until it started flinging sand and dust into the truck, so he started recording a video.

"It surprised us, it was super calm," he said.

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Dust devils are rotating columns of air that are visible in hot, dry, dusty conditions. They're fairly common in southern Alberta, and usually pretty harmless.

Hardy said the devil swept in, flinging chairs about, before disappearing into the calm sky.

"It was just an isolated incident."

The Cardstonresident said while it can get "super windy" in southern Alberta, he hasn't seen anything this strong in the area before.

Watch the video of the weather phenomenon above, or on our Facebook page.