Reporter-News Archives Friday, January 22, 1999 An ill wind blows in Abilene By DEON DAUGHERTY Staff Writer Tyra Carmichael would have spent Thursday running errands and visiting friends. But when the West Texas winds sent dry earth soaring up into the clouds, creating a haze over much of Abilene, she opted to stay indoors for much of the day. In fact, Carmichael said she already had a scratchy throat from the dust and wind she had to fight to enjoy downtown Abilene. And while Carmichael told of her troubles with the dirty winds, leaves danced in circles down the road. Below normal rainfall coupled with an upper wind disturbance rotating through Texas was the culprit behind the brown skies and gritty wind, said meteorologist Tim Hendricks with the National Weather Service. "It's been so doggone dry this winter, and that is contributing to blowing dust," Hendricks said. An overhead jet stream was traveling about 100 mph, and that has translated into the big gusts. Abilene had winds of up to 45 mph. Typical winds this time of year stick between 10 to 20 mph. The wind generally starts gusting in the spring. The jet stream makes conditions favorable for the high winds, Hendricks said. So if a little moisture could penetrate this dry spell, West Texas would likely have some thunderstorms. As it is, water falling about 8,000 to 9,000 feet above evaporates, and no one earthbound in Abilene is getting much of it. But it could be worse, Hendricks said. It could be Colorado City where 50 mph winds blew the roof off D&R Grocery on Hickory St. The roof landed in the street and blocked traffic while volunteers and city workers cleared the debris. Damage was estimated at $2,000. And meteorologists in portions of East Texas and Arkansas are watching for tornados. "We're not going to see any of that," Hendricks said. Plus, in El Paso, Marfa and Anderson, the dust is diminishing visibility to about two miles. Areas along the Rio Grande and Davis Mountains are blinded to objects less than two miles away. But Abilene folks could see about five miles ahead. If more dust starts flying, however, people won't have to wait for the weather service to tell them. "They might notice some grit in their hair or teeth," Hendricks said. Meteorologists expect the winds to stay for a while because they are involved in a pretty strong system. But winds shouldn't exceed 25 mph today. The wind was actually a help to firefighters trying to contain a grass fire at Lake Fort Phantom Thursday afternoon. About 30 acres of dry grasslands were singed. No one was injured, no cause was known, and the fire mostly burned itself out. The westward wind blew the short flames toward the lake, so there was little chance of it spreading, said Battalion Chief Jim Frazier. But in Mitchell County, it was a different story. Wind pushed fire in a controlled burn out of control and into a right-of-way on FM 2836. Firefighters struggled with the blaze for two hours. Tom Carlock contributed to this report.   Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:  texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local News Texas News Copyright ©1999, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications