Blowing dust from western states is expected to sweep across Michigan today, causing some air quality issues and hazy skies, according to the National Weather Service.
If you see tan-colored and hazy skies overhead, this blowing dust is most likely already moving in.
It is being propelled by winds gusting up to 55 mph in Michigan today. “An area of blowing dust across Illinois could move into the region today.”
Visibilities are slightly reduced where dust is present as the skies become very hazy, and poor air quality is also detected from monitoring stations across Illinois and Missouri,” NWS meteorologists in Grand Rapids stated today. “It is possible that the air quality will worsen this afternoon.
We’ll keep an eye on monitoring stations to the west and south as this dust storm moves towards us.” Our strong winds and overnight rain are only the tip of a much larger March megastorm that is now in its second deadly day across the United States.
According to the Associated Press, at least 17 people have been killed, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Tornadoes in Missouri and Arkansas, as well as dust storms in Texas, are believed to have caused the deaths.
“Extreme weather conditions — including hurricane-force winds — are forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people,” according to an Associated Press report.
“Winds gusting up to 80 mph were forecast from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier areas to the south.
“Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state.” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a news conference on Saturday that more than 200 homes had been damaged or destroyed by fire. So far, 266 square miles of his state have been burned.
