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Real "Dust" Events
The last event below inspired "Dust." When I found the little article online, I saved it, and, since it happened in Maine, expected Stephen King to use it for a future novel. He didn't - and so, several years later, I did.
May 16, 2011 (courtesy of Linda Griffin): TUCSON, AZ - A dust devil blew through a fifth-grade graduation party in a Tucson park, lifting a bouncy castle into the air. Parents quickly removed the children from the inflatable house, but six children were slightly injured from flying debris. This is the third time this year a bouncy castle has gone airborne in Tucson, Arizona. The other incidents happened on April 2 (see article below) and on February 19. The state has no laws or equipment requirements for inflatable houses.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Caught-on-Camera-Childrens-Bouncy-Castle-Goes/esgHoLlFtEOrpysot5TCuA.cspx * * *
April 2, 2011 (courtesy of Bernie Schainholtz): TUCSON, AZ - A dust devil tossed a bounce house with two children inside about 15 feet into the air, blowing it across three lanes of traffic before flinging it to the ground in the median of a busy highway. The boy and girl who had been jumping in the inflated castle were taken to a hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. The bounce house, an attraction at a children's festival, had been tethered to the ground with several large stakes.
It's second time this year an inflated castle has been lifted off the ground in Arizona. On February 19, two young girls were blown over a fence and onto a roof. Both girls were injured, but have since recovered. Here is a link to the story: http://abcnewsradioonline.com/national-news/two-kids-injured-when-jumping-castle-goes-airborne-in-arizon.html
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April 21, 2010: MAKAHA, HI - A pair of dust devils combined forces at an elementary school playground, lifting 14 fourth-graders several feet in the air and slamming some of them into the surrounding fence. Several other children were hit by tennis rackets because they were playing tennis when the dust devils appeared. Some of the students were treated for cuts and minor injuries, but none were taken to the hospital. The school principal said the situation could have been much worse because ten minutes later 300 students would have been outside for recess. Here is a link to the article from Hawaii News Now: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12352407
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August 5, 2009 (ScienceDaily article, courtesy of Rie Sheridan Rose): MARS - NASA scientists have used a combination of photographs, taken seconds apart, to create a colorful picture of a Mars dust devil. The camera on Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took photos using three filters to track the whirlwind's movements. The colors appear to be purple, green, and yellow.
Spirit has recorded more than 650 dust devils since 2004.
(Here is the link to the article and the accompanying photo:) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804123242.htm
* * * April 18, 2009: EAST FISHKILL, New York - A strong wind gust at the Beekman Country Club lifted a golf cart and knocked it over, mildly injuring two golfers. Witnesses saw a funnel cloud, which the National Weather Service said was probably a "dust devil." According to a meteorologist, these little wind formations can have "enough velocity to move objects." A Dutchess County police official called the incident "a weird little wind event." Here's a link to the story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/2350372/Weird-wind-event-traps-golfers* * *
May 19, 2003:
LEBANON, Maine - A sudden windstorm lifted a roof off an auto body
shop, collapsing most of the two-story building and killing the owner.
A meteorologist at the National Weather Service said Vintage Auto
Body may have been destroyed by a "dust devil," explaining that the
weather conditions were favorable: Dust devils - miniature tornados
that travel along the ground and suck dust into the air - appear on
sunny spring days when temperatures rise quickly in the morning.
"Sometimes the weirdest things happen on clear days," the meteorologist said.
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If anyone reading this page learns of a new "Dust Event," please contact me at sberlinerbooks@optonline.net If I can verify the incident, I will post it here and credit you.
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