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A rare sandstorm caused a multi-vehicle crash on Monday, knocking out power to Central Valley residents.
Emily Wilson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said the so-called haboob hit the valley between 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Monday.
Several people were injured in the California 99 crash, and Pacific Gas & Electric reported that about 15,000 Fresno County residents were without power as unusually strong winds kicked up dust into a deadly cloud.
“The last few months have been unusually dry,” Wilson said, adding that the low pressure “kicked up all the dust and carried it throughout the valley.”
In Madera, officials recorded wind gusts of 79 mph, which is unusual for the Central Valley location, Wilson said.
The video below, from UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia, shows a sandstorm engulfing the camera east of Delano.
The University’s Garces Highway Camera is located east of Delano, and the Sill Hill Camera is located in the foothills northeast of Bakersfield.
Weather service staff were able to see for themselves Haboob, a “unique wall of dust” that “looked like a typical Arizona dust storm,” Wilson said.
As the storm moved from Madera through Fresno County, through Kern County and into Bakersfield, the rain chased the dust and cleared it from the air.
We ended up with 1/4 to 1/3 inch of rain in the valley, and even more in the hills.
“It was very impressive,” Wilson said. “This is a fairly unusual event just because of the size of the sandstorm and the low visibility,” she said, noting that the Hanford office’s senior forecaster had issued a sandstorm warning for several counties for the first time in his career. did.
Visibility was less than 100 feet in some places.
The video below, also from UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia, shows the storm forming in the foothills northeast of Bakersfield.
People in the path of a sandstorm should go indoors and close their windows, Wilson said. Drivers should pull over and keep their lights on to avoid collisions.
There’s also good news for Central Valley residents. Rainfall after Haboob left the valley floor wet, so forecasters think it’s unlikely another sandstorm will occur in the near future.
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