Eighty years ago yesterday, the most famous dust storm of the Dust Bowl Era occurred in Oklahoma and Texas. You’ve probably seen pictures of the tremendous wall of black soil picked up by the strong winds and blown for miles across the Great Plains. The sight of all this dirt carried by the wind prompted the first ever use of the term “Dust Bowl”, according to this article by the NWS in Norman, OK. The erosion of the Dust Bowl era was attributed to the combination of low precipitation and poor soil management practices.
Mental Floss also has a story about how the Dust Bowl got its name here.
NewsOK has an additional feature story with photos about the storm here.
