The day I moved to Fargo in early May 1985 was a windy and dusty day. The sky was actually yellow with dust.
Windy days are still common around here, especially during spring, but blowing dust has become rare in recent years due to persistently wet soils from more frequent rains.
During the spring of 1988, there were a few occasions in which dust became so thick that visibility was reduced to a quarter of a mile, especially during the late afternoon, when the wind was the strongest. Such severe dust storms were a lot like being in a blizzard only dirty and brown. Snowplows were used to plow dust drifts from roads once ditches had filled with dust. Working outside became unhealthy.
But since the weather turned rainy in the early 1990s, there have been no dust storms. Eventually, dry weather will return to the Red River Valley and bring back the right environment for spring dust storms. It will not be pleasant. So if the past two weeks of rain has you wishing for drier weather, be careful not to wish too hard.
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or write to WDAY Stormtracker, WDAY-TV, Box 2466, Fargo, ND 58108
