Dust storm in washington

A dust storm occurs in arid regions and is also referred to as sand storms. They occur when a gust front blows loose sand and dust from the ground. The particles become loose because of drought or the arid conditions while gust fronts are created by the outflow of rain-cool air form a thunderstorm. Vibrations transport these dust Particles, which causes there to be soil erosion from one place and depostion in another. These storms cause a huge amount of soil loss form dry lands and take away important organic matter. This negative impact reducing agricultural success and productivity. Although dust storms can seem only a negative thing, they can actually yield positive results as well. For example, Central and South American rain forests attain a good portion of their mineral nutrients from the Sahara. In Hawaii, dust increases vegetation growth and in China, ancient dust storm deposits are very fertile soils, which is good for the vegetation. A severe dust storm occurred in Washington on October fourth. In eastern parts of Washington there was zero visibility because of this storm. The dust storm brought winds of 43 miles per hour causing many car accidents. The Dust was as far south as the cities of Pasco and Kennewick of Washington. This storm affected many Fallow fields, which are used for farming. These farmers rely on rainfall for their harvest and because of that they have to do certain things to keep moisture in their fields. These processes make dry land farms prone to dust storms. The dust storm continued for several hours. –Audrey Gleason

Source : http://geology.com/nasa/washington-dust-storm/