Whirlwinds appear as swirling columns of sparks/magic in the original Spyro series that, when stepped into, will cause Spyro to travel upward, usually allowing Spyro to reach a new area that he couldn't without the whirlwind. Their appearance has changed over time.
The original whirlwind design consisted of only blue sparkles swirling around and upwards towards where Spyro needed to go. There were also special whirlwinds in Lofty Castle that were created by the fairies who were locked in cages. The sparkles for these whirlwinds were rainbow colored. All whirlwinds make a slight tinkling noise.
Whirlwinds appear in many realms and homeworlds within these games. Notable examples include the many whirlwinds in Dream Weavers and Lofty Castle, which take the player up to the difficult-to-reach platforms. The whirlwind in Stone Hill takes Spyro up the central tower, allowing him to glide to the banks on the edge where the Egg Thief is, and the whirlwinds that appear in (e.g.) Cliff Town and Beast Makers after the player has reached a certain area once. This is to save the player from having to take the long way to reach an area again, if they have already gone there once.
Whirlwinds also appear in areas below the ground. If the whirlwind did not appear, the player would then be stuck. For example, the cave in Beast Makers and the well in Stone Hill. The whirlwind appears after a the player has been down there for a few seconds.
Whirlwinds got an update in these games. The blue sparkles are still a part of them, but now there are small streams of light that go straight up along with the swirling sparkles. Also, some whirlwinds could be unlocked after performing a certain task, such as completing a realm (like Cloud Spires). This was very evident in Year of the Dragon, since many of the realm designs placed the end within a reachable distance from the beginning with a whirlwind to access it.
The whirlwinds in this game, now known as "thermals," include sparkles and more of a swirling mist around them, and they also make more of a whooshing noise.
