Pyroclastic Sand Flows Eruption Column Volcanic Ash Dust Collapse Dense Dust Fall Dust Burstt on Plane Black Background

Popocatépetl volcano shoots 19,000-foot ash column in explosive eruption

🌪 It’s a Twister! Or Is It? 🤔 Ever spotted a swirling column of ash or tephra near Kīlauea’s lava fountains and thought, “Whoa, a tornado!”? Not quite. These whirlwinds—called puahiohio in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language)—are technically dust devils, or more precisely, ash devils, tephra devils, or lava devils, depending on the debris involved. 🔥 How do they form? Intense heat from lava or a recent eruption heats the air at ground surface. This hot air rises into the cooler air above it