Whirlwinds are forces associated with destruction in the land northward. The whole face of the land was changed because of “the tempest and the whirlwinds,” with thunderings, lightnings, and an exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth (3 Nephi 8:12).
Some people “were carried away in the whirlwind,” and no man knew where they went (3 Nephi 8:16). Others were spared and “were not carried away in the whirlwind” (3 Nephi 10:13-14).