Photo by Vic Trujillo
Some called it a dust devil, other’s thought that Hawthorne was in for another tornado, but whatever the weather phenomenon was, it is clear that the winds were definitely blowing in Hawthorne on Monday. Unlike tornadoes, dust devils are common in the hot, dry deserts of Mineral County. They can be strong and long-lived and range from a half-meter wide to a few meters tall to more than ten meters wide and more than 1,000 meters tall, according to Weather Underground. The Independent-News office received more than five calls from readers who witnessed the event. It is unknown at this time if it truly was a tornado or just a dust devil. There were no reports of damage.
