# Dust Storms are a thing again? When did they reappear?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-storms-are-a-thing-again-when-did-they-reappear/751912>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 11, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-storms-are-a-thing-again-when-did-they-reappear/751912 "2016-04-11T18:44:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-storms-are-a-thing-again-when-did-they-reappear/751912/21 "2016-04-16T01:17:03Z")

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They’re common in west Texas, and we’ll occasionally get a mild one here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-storms-are-a-thing-again-when-did-they-reappear/751912/22 "2016-04-16T01:26:03Z")

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Laredo, TX seemed to be at the center of a perpetual dust storm when I lived there in the 80s. When it did rain, it rained mud. Overall, though, dust storms aren’t any big deal.

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**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dust-storms-are-a-thing-again-when-did-they-reappear/751912/23 "2016-04-16T02:48:33Z")

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In the last ten years or so, health effects of large dust storms have been noted. Not so much from the dust itself but viruses stirred up and carried great distances. NASA even has a program going (or at least they are trying to get it going) tracking the storms for public health warnings.

And of course there are problems with diseases coming to the western hemisphere from dust blown off the Sahara. I know there are problems with Caribbean reefs suffering disease outbreaks from the African dust and I have read of studies that show a weak link between respiratory problems in people and the dust.  
Not quite the same as the continental US dust storms, but given that these storms effect such a large area and potentially a large population, there can be some real negative consequences.

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