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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Thursday, May 6, 1999 Winds carry West Texas dirt all the way to Dallas By CHRIS NEWTON Associated Press Writer LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Intense dust storms that make this West Texas city look more like the surface of Mars are not unusual during the spring months. But when those dust storms stretch all the way to Dallas — as they appeared to Tuesday afternoon — meteorologists say there must be something strange brewing. “Basically, there was an intense low-pressure system with strong west winds near the surface,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Loren Phillips, who is based in Lubbock. “Soil conditions have been dry, making it just right for dirt to be lifted off the ground and transported off towards the east. This is a very unstable time right now as far as the southwest is concerned.” Many downtown Dallasites left work Tuesday to find a fresh layer of red dust covering their cars. The dirt in Dallas was actually from West Texas, blown across hundreds of miles. The weather weirdness is also connected to the storms and tornadoes in East Texas earlier this week. “Thunderstorms and tornadoes usually need a cold front and a lot of pressure along with gulf moisture and an unstable atmosphere,” Phillips said. “A lot of that is being provided by this large low-pressure system.” DeKalb, a small town in far northeast Texas, bore the brunt of the damage cause by tornadoes Tuesday. Half the downtown district was destroyed and 14 people were injured, said Milton Hall, a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper. Lonnie King, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, agreed that the dangerous weather and the dust storm were linked. “This is all part of the same system and the same unstable situation,” King said. “There could be more storms later this week because of it as well.” 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 Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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