Dust Storm in Sherman, Kansas

A wall of dust formed along the cold front that was advancing across the east half of the county. Loose soil from a field near I-70 added to the dust in the air. The visibility fell to zero at MM 28 just east of Edson leading to a multi-vehicle accident in both east and westbound lanes. Seventy-one vehicles, and 80 people, were involved in the accident. All but one of the fatalities/injuries were in the eastbound lanes. All fatalities except for one occurred at the accident scene. One fatality occurred at a local hospital. The dust was so thick that rescuers standing at arm's length could not see one another; there was no frame of reference for up and down at times.

A strong cold front moved east through Northwest Kansas during the afternoon. As the cold front moved into Kansas, a wall of dust formed along the front, with the blowing dust continuing for hours afterward. As the front moved through, visibility fell immediately to near zero or lower. East ahead of the front scattered showers formed that wet the ground enough to greatly reduce the amount of dust able to blow around. Just behind the front showers formed. As the showers moved through wind gusts increased, then fell as the showers moved on. Wind gusts up to 70 MPH were reported behind the cold front due to either the large scale weather system or from the showers moving through.

There were multiple locations across Northwest Kansas that had vehicle accidents due to people stopping on the highway when they were not able to see in the blowing dust. The only accident that had fatalities or injuries was the one in eastern Sherman County. I-70 from Goodland to Colby was closed for more than 12 hours. The I-70 accident was the largest accident in the last 30 years according to the Highway Patrol. Highway 40 was closed from Sharon Springs to Oakley due to the dust storm and an accident.