Tuulipöly

Tuulipöly is a term used in Finnish traditional meteorology and folklore to describe a small, wind-driven dust vortex. The name combines tuuli ("wind") and pöly ("dust"), a literal description of its appearance and behavior.

In physical terms, tuulipöly resembles a short-lived column or cone of swirling dust that forms when dry surface material is picked up by gusty winds. It arises when warm air near the ground rises and interacts with horizontal wind shear, creating rotation that concentrates dust into a visible vortex. Most examples are brief, lasting from a few seconds to about a minute, and they usually drift with the prevailing wind, sometimes leaving a faint track of disturbed soil.

Geographically, reports of tuulipöly are most common in open, sparsely vegetated or coastal landscapes where fine surface dust or sand can be mobilized. In Finnish folklore, tuulipöly is sometimes personified as a capricious wind spirit that tests fences, crops, and haystacks, and appears in local tales during windy seasons. The term is used in field guides as a descriptive label for similar atmospheric phenomena and as a linguistic reminder of wind's role in shaping the landscape.

In contemporary science, dust- or vortex-like phenomena are studied under dust devils and boundary-layer circulations to understand surface-atmosphere interactions and dust transport. Tuulipöly remains primarily a cultural and descriptive term in Finnish language sources.

See also: dust devil, wind shear, Finnish folklore.