The May 29th Dust
Storm
by
David Floyd/WCM - NWS Goodland,
KS
.
The
radar image at the right shows a cluster of thunderstorms (yellow and
red cores)
over extreme NW Kansas. These storms
moved northeast into Nebraska with large hail and strong winds, but the
main
event was the development and rapid eastward progression of a large
thunderstorm outflow, which surged over 100 miles southeast of the
original
thunderstorm complex. Seen on radar as a
thin blue line (highlighted), this outflow produced gusts of 65 to 85
mph in Sherman
County (Goodland),
and 50 to 70 mph
further east. Winds continued to gust
near 60 mph for a 3 hour period after the initial outflow passed by. Radar was likely detecting a combination of
the dirt cloud thrown high into the air by the outflow, as well as
insects.
The
pictures
below show two dust storms, the top image was taken February 21, 1935,
and the bottom
image May 29, 2004. The similarity is striking, with the main
difference being that the image from 1935 was in black-and-white.
The
moisture content of the topsoil in NW Kansas was quite low by the end
of May. Afternoon temperatures frequently
topped 80
degrees during the month, and only two days of significant rainfall
were reported
prior to the 29th. This was a
major contributor to the rapid visibility drop and the ensuing traffic
accidents. Although subsequent rainfall
during the summer and early fall months has helped this situation by
replenishing topsoil moisture, NW Kansas is still struggling to climb
out of a
3-year drought.
KANSAS
SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK
MARCH 13-17, 2006
