Dust Devil, Eastern Norfolk
- When
- July 22, 1:28 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Norfolk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dust Devil in Massachusetts, July 22, 1997
A clear air funnel or dust devil moved directly over the meteorological tower at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA, with a peak wind gust to 39 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.
A clear air funnel or dust devil moved directly over the meteorological tower at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA, with a peak wind gust to 39 mph.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood and Hail in Nebraska, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Texas, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Iowa, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 22, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 22, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, July 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Alabama, July 22, 1997
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, July 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5613932.