The dust storm was so powerful that it swept through settlements across northwest Queensland on Sunday. According to scientists, the storm was caused by several thunderstorms that passed through the area.
A freak dust storm struck the community of Boulia on Sunday. Footage taken from Outback shows the dark storm front that swept across vast, arid plains.
As the massive weather front swept through remote areas, wind speeds of up to 109 km/h (nearly 68.5 mph) reached frightening levels. Some local residents may have been caught unawares by this terrifying spectacle and ran to flee the scene.
Helen Kirkup, a weather expert at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, said the dust storm was a result of a line of thunderstorms in the region, stretching over 100 kilometers.
“Because there was a series of storms we also had a gustfront of cold air outflows. The residents of the area would have been able to experience the dust storm followed by thunderstorms.She said.
According to the meteorologist, the area could experience more dust storms during the summer. This area has a tendency to extremely hot summers. The Boulia’s daily high temperature will remain at 40C for the foreseeable future.
Local residents told Australia’s ABC News that Sunday’s storm was the largest they had seen for years. It appeared that the storm impacted large areas of land with affected settlements Mount Isa (250 km) and Boulia (250 km).