Stay indoors: Huge dust storm could hit this city tomorrow
A huge dust storm hit Sydney in September 2009. The Double Bay marina is covered in a red haze on September 23, 2009.
Sydney could be hit with dust storms from Wednesday as winds pick up and temperatures rise ahead of a cold front.
Parts of south-western NSW was “sand blasted” by swirling winds and conditions are so dry that most of the winter crop has failed to grow, reports Sydney Morning Herald.
A strengthening cold weather front this week means the dust could be carried to the NSW coast, possibly creating a similar dust storm to 2009 when Sydney’s skyline turned red.
David Wilke, duty forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said although it was more likely that areas in western NSW hit will be hit by dust storms, it was possible the storm could hit Sydney.
“The next strong cold front will likely come at the end of this week but there is a weaker front at the moment and we do have very dry conditions,” Mr Wilke said.
Cold front often lead to dust storms as warm columns of air lift and carry particles from dry areas, Mr Wilke explained.
Most of the dust in NSW is from south-western Queensland and South Australia, both of which are particularly dry. All of NSW was declared in drought last week.
Australia has experienced its driest July since 2002, and the driest autumn since 1902.