#volcanic whirlwinds
Volcano Watch — ‘It’s a twister! Or is it?’ unraveling Kīlauea’s volcanic whirlwinds
Often spotted by onlookers in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, or even by YouTube livestream viewers, the long, ashy gray or brown, ropy cloud-like structures tend to appear near or downwind of active lava fountains. But what is it that we’re actually seeing? Twisters? Tornadoes? Whirlwinds? Lava-nadoes? Vol-nadoes? Tephra-nadoes?
