If you have been watching national weather news this week you may have noticed images of tremendous dust storms in western Texas, including El Paso. These dust storms caused visibilities near zero on highways, leading to accidents and health issues there. But you may not have seen the stories about the dirty rain that fell on areas of the Midwest and as far east as North Carolina later in the week as those dust clouds blew all of the way from Texas to the East Coast, and fell as rain washed the dust particles out of the atmosphere and onto cars and plants near Raleigh, NC. This shows that the atmosphere is capable of transporting dust for long distances and is similar to stories about dust from the Dust Bowl in the 1930s making all the way to Washington DC.
KVIA: ‘Nothing like before’: El Pasoans say this week’s dust storm is one of ‘the worst’
Fox Weather: Mystery solved as ‘crazy gross rain’ dirties cars across hundreds of miles
WRAL: Why did it rain dirt, dust on my car Friday night?
Newsweek: ‘Dirty rain’ hits multiple states
