Colorado Dust Storm: Brutal Cold Front Creates Haboob

Colorado Dust Storm: Brutal Cold Front Creates Haboob

A fast-moving cold front pushed through the Plains and Colorado Monday evening, causing at least one large dust storm to form.

Known as a haboob, the dust storm rushed through parts of Colorado on the leading edge of brutally cold air. According to local reports sent to the National Weather Service, winds of at least 50 mph were recorded during the dust storm.

"Southeast Colorado, western Kansas, northeast New Mexico and the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas remain in severe to extreme drought," said weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman. "The central and southern High Plains picked up little or no precipitation from Winter Storm Astro. This arctic cold front was able to loft dust easily as it plunged south from Colorado to eastern New Mexico and western Texas."

Arriving quickly behind the haboob was some of the coldest air of the season for Colorado and neighboring states. Parts of Colorado were nearly 40 degrees colder than they were at the exact same time 24 hours earlier, and Tuesday's high temperatures were expected to remain below freezing for most of the eastern half of the state.

The cold air rushed southward as Winter Storm Astro blanketed the Northern Plains and Midwest with inches, if not feet, of snow.

 http://www.weather.com/news/news/colorado-dust-storm-20141111