Have You Ever Seen a Steam Devil?

Neither have I. But Mike Hollingshead (a very talented storm chaser and photographer who has taken such beautiful storm photos as to be miscredited via ad nauseum via email) just got some great photos of the phenomena in Iowa last month (scroll down on this SpaceWeather.com page for a lengthier explanation). SpaceWeather says it's "Steam Devil" season as we speak - devils are formed not unlike dust and fire devils - vertical temperature differences are to blame. Here are some great shots from Lake Ontario in January.

Local storm chaser Ron "R-Factor" Shawley has taken pictures and a video of "sprouts" of fog appearing after a rain here in Central Pennsylvania. I have observed a similar phenomena here and also back in the mountains of North Carolina. Because of the lack of detail and spin in the "sprouts" and the lack of water where we've seen these, I don't think these are Steam Devils, but they may be formed by a similar mechanism.