Steam Devils

When a dry area of ground warms up faster than the surrounding ground, it creates a dust devil because the rising air starts to circulate like a weak tornado and lifts the dust with it. Even if it isn't a very common phenomenon, many of us have at least heard about it. There are other weather devils as well, though. In some aspects, the far more uncommon but similarly stygian steam devil differs from its dusty cousin by occurring over bodies of water or moist ground as opposed to dusty areas of land. When the light strikes it and starts to warm the frozen surface to provide the necessary temperature difference, they have been seen forming on the icy grass.

It develops when opposing air temperatures produce a vortex, much like a dust devil. In this instance, a blast of colder air often finds warm water before a steam devil forms on it. Water vapor from below is drawn up by the warm, moist air from the water as it rises into the cold air and starts to rotate. They frequently only reach heights of a few meters and typically don't grow very tall.