Question regarding the (monster) elemental abilities whirlwind and vortex: PRD says whirlwind(and thus vortex, which references whirlwind) should be formatted as "whirlwind (3/day, 10–30 ft. high, 1d6+6 damage, DC 15);" however those abilities for (e.g small) elementals are written: "Special Attacks whirlwind (DC 12)."
1) Can the elementals use this ability at will? (no restriction on uses per day?
(Of note: High level elemental Genies (e.g Djinn) get "whirlwind (1/10 minutes, 10–50 ft. tall, 1d8+4 damage, DC 17)"
2) What is the size category of an elemental in whirlwind form? -- A small air elemental on the size chart is:
Elemental....Height....Weight.....Whirlwind Sv DC.....Whirlwind Height
Small.............4 ft...........1 lb..................12.....................10–20 ft.
However "The whirlwind is always 5 feet wide at its base ... A whirlwind's width at its peak is always equal to half of its height." So a small elemental's whirlwind is 5' at its base (same as a Huge one) but at the top it can be 10' to 20' in the air and 5' to 10' wide--which would seem to make it large (i.e. able to pick up medium creatures).
3) "The whirlwind can eject any carried creatures whenever it wishes as a free action, depositing them in its space" and "Another creature might be caught in the whirlwind if it touches or enters the whirlwind, or if the whirlwind moves into or through a creature's space." How do these two statements interact--if the whirlwind drops a creature in its own space, does the creature have to save again (or be picked up) on its turn? What about when the elemental turns back? (i.e. small air elementals can only maintain whirlwind for 1 turn, do creatures they pick up all stay in the same space piled on top of each other? Roll 1d8 to see which square they are ejected into like the Throw Splash Weapon rules?)
Thanks in advance for any advice on how this works.