Historical Dust Storms
May 11-12, 1959 Dust Storm
High winds continued for a 4th straight day on May 12, 1959. This time, winds from the west gusted up to 89 km/h at Winnipeg Airport. These winds produced clouds of blowing dust originating off the dry top soils of southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba. Visibility was said to be reduced to near zero in southeastern Saskatchewan. In Weyburn, it was so dark from the dust clouds that motorists had their headlights on during the day. Dust drifts up to four inches in depth began filling roadside ditches between Melita and Brandon. The dust coated buildings and cars with a grey film. Roots of early-sown grain were also stripped bare, and some had to be reseeded. In Winnipeg, visibility was reduced to 5km during the overnight hours, and the dust was enough to blur out the sun in the early morning hours. Fields in the Red River Valley were mostly wet however, so the dust was mostly transported from out west.
The dust storm was so intense that the dust was transported as far away as Indiana. In Chicago, skies were blurred by dust which reduced visibility down to 4km on the 13th. It was part of a dry spring in Saskatchewan where blowing dust was an intermittent problem starting in early April. Brandon: Blowing dust on the 11th with visibility down to 5km. Blowing dust was worst on the 12th with visibility as low as 2 km in the late morning. Dauphin: Visibility down to 5km in blowing dust early afternoon on the 11th. Snowfall on the 12th helped reduce the dust. Pilot Mound: Visibility down to 2 km in blowing dust at 6pm on the 11pm and noon on the 12th. Portage: Visibility down to 6 km in blowing dust the afternoon of the 11th and down to 4km late morning on the 12th. Rivers: Visibility down to 3 km on the 11th and 2km on the 12th. Direct damage from the winds was minor, but enough to knock down some branches and trees. The dust storm in southwestern Manitoba was said to have been the worst since the 1930s, but not as bad as the 1930s. Newspaper sources: Brandon Daily Sun May 12 (page 1 and page 5) and May 13 (page 1 - too large to attach). Winnipeg Free Press May 12 (page 3) and May 13 (page 1 and page 8). Winnipeg Tribune May 12 (page 1 - as seen on the right), May 13 (page 1 and 7) and May 14 (page 26). |