Winds Kicked Up Plains Dust and Carried It Into the Southeast

For those living in the northern half of Alabama, much of Mississippi and southern Tennessee you may have noticed it was quite hazy looking. It may have also be a bit tough for you to breath at times. This would not have been what you normally would have expected behind a refreshing cold front as the northwest winds would typically clear out pollutants and haze leaving behind crisp blue sky.






But what you were seeing and even possibly tasting was in fact dust that was kicked up on Thursday, 10/18, across the Plains and blown southeastward into the Southeastern U.S. The dust was easily kicked up as farm fields had been recently harvested and plowed and conditions have continued to be dry. Then, mix in a strong storm system with strong, gusty winds and you have a dust storm. The dust was so thick on Thursday, at times, that interstate I-35 had to be closed in Oklahoma.

The dust should continue to filter out as it moves further east into Saturday.
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