Watch: Children on New York beach run screaming from dust devil

A dust devil that spun up at a lake in Grafton, New York, sent children running and beach equipment flying on Friday, Aug. 15. Within 30 seconds, the dust died down. 

GRAFTON, N.Y.– A dust devil turned a nice, sunny day at the beach at Graton Lakes State Park in New York into a chaotic scene as kids ran screaming from the spinning dust cloud. 

The dust, caught on video, caused beach umbrellas and other equipment to get picked up and tossed around. 

In the video, children ran around the beach, trying to get out of the dust’s way and seek cover, screaming as they ran away.

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A dust devil picks up sand on the beach. 

(Jonna Basle via Storyful / FOX Weather)

“It was a beautiful calm day,” videographer Jonna Basle told Storyful. “All of a sudden, we heard kids screaming and running. I turned to see a huge pop-up tent blow over, almost landing on some of the kids.”

People run out of the lake away from the dust devil.

(Jonna Basle via Storyful / FOX Weather)

The dust devil swirls around the beach as the video continues, and more children are seen running out of the lake and toward the shore. 

Strong winds were heard throughout the video whipping away. 

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The dust devil disappeared into the sky. 

(Jonna Basle via Storyful / FOX Weather)

After about 30 seconds of picking up sand on the beach, the dust devil dissipated into the sky. 

Dust devils are caused by intense heating along the ground triggering a vast difference in temperature within a few hundred feet. The heated air, now quite buoyant, will shoot upward, with surface winds providing some spin. 

Dust devils usually only last a few minutes and have low enough wind speeds to rarely cause damage.