Story Archives of 'Weather'

Citizens of Sydney, Australia described it like this: an immense orange wave charging in from the distance. Thick with dust... roiling... billowing up from the horizon. And then dust, choking dust, coating everything in a layer of orange soot.

Dust storms form all over the world, especially East Africa, China, the Middle East, and the American Southwest. Within the thick storm cloud are harmful particulates, bacteria, viruses and plant pathogens that can travel huge distances and can easily be inhaled. Although some point to the Sydney storm as evidence of climate change, some scientists also believe that dust storms can help mitigate climate change. The dense, iron-rich dust blocks the sun’s rays, and provides nutrients for ocean phytoplankton and rainforests in Brazil.
Bill Sprigg is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Arizona, and he joins us to talk about the choking and fertilizing effects of dust storms.

Guardian: Dust storms spread deadly diseases worldwide

Videos from the Australian dust storms:

Video from a 2007 dust storm in Phoenix, Arizona:

(Photo courtesy NSW Maritime via Flickr/Creative Commons)

On July 24, 2008, in a wooded lot in Deerfield, a tornado began that would travel fifty miles through Epsom, Northwood, Pittsfield, Barnstead, Alton, New Durham, Wolfeboro, Ossipee, Effingham and ending up in Freedom, leaving devastation in its path. Homes were destroyed, thousands of acres of trees were downed and one life was lost. We look back at this tornado with New Hampshire residents whose lives were affected.

Guests

• Mary Stampone, New Hampshire state climatologist and a professor of geography at the University of New Hampshire
• Leslie Van Berkum, co-owner of Van Berkum’s Wholesale Nursery
• Joanne Randall, vice-chair of the Board of Selectmen and Public Information Officer for the town of Epsom
• Bill and Arlene Moffitt, residents of Epsom whose home was destroyed by the tornado
• Fred Borman, UNH Cooperative Extension forester for Rockingham County
• Dan Schroth, a stonewall maker in Pittsfield who created the business Tornadowood from the wood that fell on his land in last year’s tornado

Last month was one of the rainiest Junes ever recorded, and the impact of the wet weather has been widespread. The potential for flash floods has increased, the mosquito population is exploding, and water quality and local agriculture are both at risk. We’ll talk with experts from across the region and get latest on New Hampshire’s climate calamity.

Guest

• Mary Stampone, New Hampshire State Climatologist and assistant professor of geography at the University of New Hampshire

We'll also hear from

• John Jensenius, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service
• Jim Van Dongen, Public Information Officer for the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management
• Alan Eaton, entomologist with the UNH Cooperative Extension and coordinator of their Integrated Pest Management program
• Jody Connor, director of the Limnology Center for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services