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For Once, You Can Blame the Weather for Your Dirty Car

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Michelle O'Neill
Published April 12, 2019 at 4:39 PM CDT
Screenshot from a gif posted on Twitter showing where winds picked up dust in New Mexico, Texas & Mexico.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1116371342125862912
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NOAA Satellites on Twitter
Screenshot from a gif posted on Twitter showing where winds picked up dust in New Mexico, Texas & Mexico.

If you thought your car was dirtier after it rained Thursday, you're right.

People in the Midwest found dirt of a different color (tan or sort of orange) on their cars after rainfall on Thursday.
Credit Michelle O'Neill / WVIK News
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WVIK News
People in the Midwest found dirt of a different color (tan or sort of orange) on their cars after rainfall on Thursday.

Michelle O'Neill talked with a scientist to find out why.Radio story

A National Weather Service satellite shows strong winds blew dust from the Southwest and Mexico into the jet stream. Then it traveled over the Midwest, and the dirt fell along with the rain.

Meteorologist Alex Gibbs, from the Davenport office, says it's a unique occurance. The dust even turned up in the snow that fell in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Gibbs says it reminds him of the Dust Bowl in the 1920's, when dust from out west traveled as far as the east coast.

Copyright 2021 WVIK, Quad Cities NPR. To see more, visit WVIK, Quad Cities NPR.

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Michelle O'Neill
Officially, Michelle's title is WVIK News Editor which really just means she wears many hats, doing everything there is to do in the newsroom and around the radio station. She's a multimedia journalist and serves as Assignment Editor, reporter, radio news producer, copy editor, announcer, news anchor/host, and photographer. She also writes and produces content for WVIK.org and social media.In recent broadcast journalism contests, Michelle's work contributed to WVIK winning various awards for excellence in both Illinois and Iowa. Tweets by MichelleONeilll
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