Dust Storm in Polk, Nebraska

Dust Storm May 5, 2004 · Polk, Nebraska

Injuries

$65K

Damage as recorded

What the National Weather Service wrote

Blowing dust was caused by outflow winds, estimated to be around 50mph, from a nearby thunderstorm. This occurred about 3 miles east of Shelby.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms moving across south-central Nebraska produced little rain, but mainly strong winds. The winds toppled trees in Hall, Howard, Merrick, Polk and Adams counties. Several communities were without power for a time. The wind also stirred dust from freshly plowed fields which resulted in near-zero visibility at times. A 3 vehicle pile-up on the Polk/Butler county line east of Shelby resulted in 9 injuries. The poor visibility due to blowing dust contributed to the cause of the accident.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5401847. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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