On Friday afternoon, a spectacular weather phenomenon formed at Upper-Sûre Lake, taking swimmers at Lultzhausen beach by surprise. A video shows a powerful gust of wind rising and beginning to swirl, carrying various objects away in its path.
As Meteolux confirmed, the phenomenon was not a tornado. It was what is known as a "dust devil", a type of whirlwind laden with dust. These phenomena form in clear weather and high temperatures, and they are almost always highly localized and very short-lived. They begin forming at ground level as the surface heats up intensely. When dust is swept into the vortex, as can be seen in the footage, the result can be impressive.
Meteorologist Luca Mathias explained such a whirlwind is not dangerous. This type of phenomenon, which generally lasts only a few seconds, was also observed several years ago by the lake in Weiswampach and at Findel during construction of the tram.
In any case, it is a phenomenon that could become more frequent as global warming intensifies.
