Dust Storm in Australia video 23 Sept 09.

Comment

Comment by Diana Parker on September 28, 2009 at 8:25am

OMG Kerry how on earth are you going to drive in that?

Comment by Kerry on September 28, 2009 at 12:19am

I'm saying this because when our dust storms cover the entire length of a coastline like these have - what follows 90% of the time - are bush fires. Australia's worst recorded bush fires - eg Ash Wednesday, 1983 follow after this gigantor dust storms. Sometimes oddly, the dust storms themselves have been known to ignite the bushfires. The reckon certain minerals that get picked up in dust storms have ignited by static electricity in the atmosphere and shot down raining fire balls from the sky. It's happened twice before in Australia's past 100 years alone. Rather freaky huh?

Comment by Kerry on September 28, 2009 at 12:15am

" The skies are brass and the plains are bare,
Death and ruin are everywhere;
And all that is left of the last year's flood
Is a sickly stream on the grey-black mud;
The salt-springs bubble and the quagmires quiver,
And this is the dirge of the Darling River. "

The Song Of The Darling River 1889 Henry Lawson 1837 - 1922

Comment by Kerry on September 28, 2009 at 12:12am

You can say that again Ro. Thankfully, "they", the Bureau of Meteorology (our weather forecasters) say that's the last of the dust storms like this for a while - probably cause after the last 2, there's no more topsoil left - but also, there is no rain either. So Australia is back to how we most commonly see it now - a huge dry dustbowl.

My neighbours are pumping water from underground bores to water their gardens, and the grass outside is that dry, you can't walk on it barefoot for fear the dry blades will cut your feet. So, for now we're not looking at summer as storm season as I like too - but bushfire season instead. The firies are doing loads of backburning (when the winds ease) and everyones stocking what water we can. The governments educating people on whether they should "fight or flight" in case of bush fires and we now sit here praying the bush & or grass doesn't burn, literally. But yes, speechless is absolutely right :-).