https://weather.com/news/weather/news/dust-devil-burlington-international-airport-vermont (video on original source)
As people were waiting for their flights at Vermont's Burlington International Airport on Wednesday, a rare dust devil formed right next to one of the runways.
Charlene Whitehouse posted a photo of this incredible sight to a local Burlington, Vermont, meteorologist's Facebook page, which was then shared on Twitter via the local National Weather Service office.
he official definition of a dust devil from the National Weather Service is, "a small, rapidly rotating wind that is made visible by the dust, dirt or debris it picks up. Also called a whirlwind, it develops best on clear, dry, hot afternoons."
Wednesday afternoon featured scattered clouds with a high of 80 degrees in the area, so conditions were not ideal, but the dust devil still managed to develop.
What likely happened in this situation was that the dark asphalt on the runway heated up faster than the surrounding grass, since grass contains moisture and absorbs some of the heat from the sun.
When this temperature contrast between different ground surfaces develops, it can overcome the larger weather influences and create a mini weather pattern. The warmer ground surface heats up the air above it, so the air becomes warmer than the ground and begins to rise. As it rises, it pushes through the cooler air above and creates a vertical column of warm, rising air.
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