Did you wake up with a dirty car this morning?
The Chicago area had “dirty rain” overnight, thanks to dust being lofted into the air from Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Those areas have been in a drought, and there are also a few wildfires burning over the panhandle of Oklahoma.
We had 70 to 80 mph winds about 3,500 feet above ground overnight, which transported the dust and particulates across the plains through Illinois.
Dust particles act as a condensation nuclei for new rain drops to form and collects more dust as it falls to the ground. The rain landed on our cars and dried up this morning; leaving us in the dust.
“This was dust from extensive blowing dust & wildfire smoke/ash from the strong winds and extreme fire conditions in the central and southern Plains,” the National Weather Service explained. “The dust was drawn northeastward from very strong southwesterly winds above the ground and became embedded in the raindrops from the evening and overnight rain showers, the result being ‘dusty rain’ and needing a trip to the car wash.”
You may remember when something similar happened March 19 last year.
The dust and dirty rain comes as much of a Chicago area was under a red flag warning Wednesday, with winds gusting as high as 45 miles per hour or more, especially in counties to the west.
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from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/ZagLn3l
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