It's been nearly a century since Chicago saw a powerful dust storm like this (photos)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
In mid-May, a giant wall of dust paraded across parts of the U.S. Midwest, and, thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) East satellite, we were able to follow along.
In mid-May, a giant wall of dust paraded across parts of the U.S. Midwest, and, thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) East satellite, we were able to follow along.
The GOES-19 spacecraft, which has been in space for less than a year after launching in late June 2024, took over the GOES East spot back in April. Hanging out at 22,236 miles (35,785 kilometers) above the planet, the next-gen satellite watches over the Western Hemisphere; it keeps a close eye on our weather, takes measurements to study our climate and monitors and tracks wildfires as they develop.
In addition, by being in the right place at the right time, GOES East can document historic weather events from beginning to end.
Dust storms are pretty rare across the Great Lakes region, but on May 16, one developed across northern Illinois and proceeded east through metropolitan Chicago and northern Indiana.
It sprang from a group of severe thunderstorms in central Illinois, as strong winds began to kick up dust on dry farmland. As the storms progressed east, a massive dust cloud formed, situating itself just behind the front edge of the outflow winds of the thunderstorm.
The powerful winds continued to drive the dust storm, with gusts reaching more than 60 mph (97 kph) at times.
This part of the country is more accustomed to Snow Squall Warnings, in which intense bands of snow can drop visibility quickly to zero and are accompanied by howling winds. But this time, it was the curtain of dust, not snow, that prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Chicago to issue alerts, with visibilities reaching close to zero at several instances.
Throughout the event, four separate Dust Storm Warnings were released, with the criteria of winds of at least 20 mph (32 kph) paired with widespread blowing dust, dropping the visibility to 0.25 miles (0.4 kilometers) or less.
RELATED STORIES
— NOAA expects up to 5 major hurricanes in 2025: 'Be prepared'
— The newest GOES weather satellite in NOAA's fleet is now fully operational (video)
— Trump administration's NOAA layoffs affected the space weather service that tracks solar storms
While dust storms are not common throughout the Midwest, they're extremely rare in the Windy City. The most recent dust storm to affect Chicago took place on May 31, 1985, but it was nowhere near the strength of this one.
The NWS Chicago office confirmed that it's been close to a century since the city was hit with an event of this proportion; that storm took place in the early to mid-1930s, during the Dust Bowl era.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
31 minutes ago
- CBS News
South Florida facing possible showers, high heat this weekend
The NEXT Weather team is tracking another hot and humid weekend across South Florida with morning and some afternoon rain storms moving ashore. A few rain showers will push through Miami-Dade county starting around noon and lasting through early afternoon on Saturday. The added moisture combined with the real temperatures in the upper 80s across most of the region will drive the "feels like temperatures" to near the triple digits. For most of South Florida, it will feel like the upper 90s until the early evening hours. As we prepare to celebrate the Panther's back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, we will need to pack a poncho when heading to the parade. We'll likely see rain showers move ashore in Fort Lauderdale for several hours before the parade starts. Unfortunately, for the 200,000 expected spectators lining-up along the parade route, they will get wet. The good news is the rain will move out before the parade starts unlike last year. NEXT week looks like a continuation of the mostly dry and humid stretch we've been dealing with for several days.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Northern Ireland records first heatwave in two years
Northern Ireland has recorded its first heatwave in two years as temperatures rose above 25C on Saturday. The Met Office weather station at Castlederg in County Tyrone saw the thermometer reach 25.3C. The same site recorded heat of 29.5C on Friday and 25.7C on Thursday, meaning a heatwave threshold of three consecutive days of temperatures of 25C or above has been met. The highest temperatures on record for Northern Ireland in June is 30.8C recorded at Knockarevan in County Fermanagh in June 1976. High temperatures on Friday were followed by the warmest June night on record with temperatures falling no lower than 18.2C at Aldergrove in County Antrim. It's been a muggy start to the weekendParticularly so across Northern Ireland, which has provisionally recorded its warmest June night on record 🌡️The temperature at Aldergrove didn't drop below 18.2°C over the 24 hours from Friday morning to Saturday morning — Met Office (@metoffice) June 21, 2025 The last time a heatwave was recorded in Northern Ireland was early in September 2023, when a new monthly record of 28C was set at Castlederg in County Tyrone. The short three-day heatwave will come to an end quickly on Sunday with temperatures expected to reach between 15-17C, more than 10 degrees lower than Friday. The cooler conditions will also come with a breakdown in weather with fresh westerly winds bringing a scattering of showers, which could be heavy and thundery.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Three Confirmed Dead In North Dakota Derecho-Spawned Tornadoes
A derecho passed over the entirety of North Dakota on Friday night. Stretching more than 400 miles from Montana to Minnesota, the thunderstorm complex produced multiple tornadoes and wreaked havoc across the state. With devastation covering the vast distance of the state, reports were only beginning to emerge on Saturday morning. The Cass County Sheriff's Department confirmed that three people had died as a result of tornadoes in Enderlin, a rural community southwest of Fargo, ND. Overnight, NOAA received preliminary reports of tornadoes in Barnes, Ransom, Stutsman, and Cass counties. (MORE: What is a Derecho?) Christopher Muller, Director of Emergency Management in Beltrami County, Minnesota, reported, 'many roofs off buildings everywhere around Bemidji, vehicles flipped, windows blown in at the regional medical center' and possibly thousands of trees down in the area roughly 130 miles northwest of Fargo. Wind gusts as high as 106 miles per hour were reported in Bemidji. Digital Meteorologist Jonathan Belles notes that derechos are expected in the area this time of year. 'We're deep into derecho season now, which runs from May through July or August,' he says. 'These storm systems move the heat of the summer and get a little extra push from the jet stream near the Canadian border. While Friday night's top wind gust of 106 mph was on the high side of what we typically see, it isn't unheard of. They're most common from the Upper Midwest to the Ohio Valley, but can occur just about anywhere east of the Rockies.' As a result of those high winds and tornadoes, more than 23,000 customers are currently without power in North Dakota. The National Weather Service will be sending out damage assessment crews to survey the areas hit by high winds and tornadoes this weekend.
