How a dust storm swept across central Illinois earlier this week
A cloud of blowing dust in Urbana with the State Farm Center and Memorial Stadium in the foreground on the left. Courtesy of Andrew Pritchard
A blowing dust warning was issued Monday afternoon in rural Champaign County. Strong southerly winds combined with weakening storms kicked up thick plumes of blowing dust from the fields across central Illinois.
The national weather service reported that there was near zero visibility reported on at least three interstate highways in Illinois.
Although dust storms are common in Illinois, they can often be dangerous. Last year, Illinois experienced a dust storm early in the growing season. A blowing dust advisory was issued for parts of the Chicago area with wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour.
Three years ago a dust storm caused a 84-vehicle pileup along I-55 south of Springfield. Eight people died and dozens more were injured.
Doctoral student in Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Maddie Stover and Illinois State Climatologist with the Prairie Research Institute, Trent Ford taking a closer look into this week's dust storms that swept across central Illinois.
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