Windy, Dirty Conditions Hit the High Plains...
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May 29, 2004 High Wind Event |
A cluster of thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours of May 29th, and initially produced marginally severe hail reports from dime to quarter size across eastern Colorado. The thunderstorms moved across extreme NW Kansas and SW Nebraska over the next several hours, producing a welcome round of moderate to heavy rainfall. But the big story was not rain or hail, it was strong straight-line wind.
Several years of drought conditions across the High Plains of Kansas have resulted in extremely dry soils, with both topsoil and subsoil moisture extremely low. This resulted in winter and spring crops becoming poorly established, and many fields left unplanted or crops plowed under. This was the recipe for disaster. Strong thunderstorm downdrafts of 60 to 90 mph developed and produced widespread damage to trees, powerlines, roofs and fences. As the downdrafts gained momentum, strong winds raced out well ahead of the thunderstorm rain cores. The strong winds collected a huge volume of dirt, sending it many hundreds of feet into the air. This produced a literal wall of dirt and resulted in instant blackout conditions similar to the 1930s "dust bowl". Visibilities were reduced to tens of feet in some instances as the large clouds of blowing dirt swept eastward behind the thunderstorm's gust front.
Traffic on Interstate 70 was adversely affected. People unaccustomed to driving across the High Plains during extreme wind conditions continued driving into clouds of dirt where visibility suddenly dropped from several miles to near zero. Several fatal accidents occurred as some people slowed down while others continued to drive at a high rate of speed. Unfortunately, this resulted in several pileups, ultimately claiming two lives.
Until drought conditions improve in western Kansas, more episodes of "dust storms" will likely accompany thunderstorms on the High Plains. |
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Click here to view the Preliminary Local Storm Report... |
| Take a look at some interesting photos taken from this storm. |
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| If you experienced any damage with this storm, or have peak wind reports, please contact us at 785-899-7119 or E-Mail us at w-gld.webmaster@noaa.gov |
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