Monster dust devil in the distance.

We've mostly tamed the desert here in Western Nevada, but sometimes the desert still knows how to fight back. The one weapon mother nature will always have against us is wind, and around here that means dust devils. Big, violent ones. The Record Courier has the story of a house in the Ranchos that was hit by a monster dust devil. It smashed up his chicken coop and threw his back patio into his front yard.

These monster winds have struck our house too. Last October a particularly bad windstorm toppled the wooden playground in our backyard. It weighs hundreds of pounds, but a big gust just knocked it right down.

So we may not live in the land of tornadoes, but we still get our share of angry winds.