Frequency of Dust Storms Increasing
The frequency of large dust storms is increasing in several parts of the world. Here in the U.S., dust storms have been on the rise for at least the past 20 years in the southwest, and are also increasingly frequent in the Great Plains, and certain parts of the southeast. They typically occur in late spring. The most recent example as of this writing is a massive dust storm that occurred in early May that killed over 100 people and destroyed many homes in northern India.
What is Behind the Increase in Dust Storms?
The probability of a dust storm occurring is largely driven by an area’s surface characteristics, its particle properties, and the local weather conditions (temperature, wind speed, precipitation totals, etc.).
A dust storm is created when a quick ascent of warm air creates a vacuum that sucks in and disperses sand and dust. Their frequency correlates with atmospheric temperature. Thus, the primary reason for the increasing frequency of dust storms is warming ocean temperatures and the drying of soils caused by climate change.
Although they might not be as disastrous as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and even forest fires, dust storms are still problematic from an emergency preparedness perspective for multiple reasons:
- Heavy wind-blown dust can cause outages by destroying infrastructure or bringing down electrical wires.
- Dust- or sand-covered roadways can make travel slow and/or dangerous, hindering restoration efforts.
- Blowing dust can actually spread disease (for example, Valley Fever in the southwest).
- Dust storms can knock communication networks offline, which obviously makes recovery more difficult.
As you can see, this weather phenomenon is not to be taken lightly. If dust storms are possible in your service territory, I would suggest incorporating a dust or sand storm scenario into your next drill, as there are definitely some very unique aspects to them.
