Deadly dust storm and flooding in the Northeast

HOUSTON – Hello and welcome to May! Here in Houston pool weather is in full swing this weekend with the summer heat quickly returning.

In the rest of the US it was a busy week with tornadoes. A strong tornado touched down in Virginia Beach, we had a strong tornado in West Palm Beach and an EF-0 tornado touched down in Compton. We covered a lot of tornadoes this spring, so today I wanted to focus on the Illinois dust storm and severe flooding in the Northeast.

A devastating dust storm hit I-55 in central Illinois on Monday, causing more than 70 cars to pile up and killing seven people. Dust storms are not uncommon in central Illinois this time of year, but there were several factors that made this dust storm so impactful. I-55 is a busy interstate along flat, freshly plowed land, with intense wind gusts. There was a constant wind around 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. It was not only the magnitude of the wind, but also the direction. I-55 travels north-south and the strong winds were west-east, so the crosswind made driving more difficult.

RELATED: Illinois dust storm leads to 6 highway fatalities, here’s what you should do if caught in storm while driving

Blowing dust lowers visibility on I-55 in southern Illinois

The drivers suffered a loss of visibility and unfortunately there was very little time to react. A sobering reminder that deadly weather doesn’t always come in the form of hurricanes or tornadoes.

Large pileup on steaming I-55 during dust storm in south central Illinois

Torrential rains led to flash flooding to start the week in parts of the northeast. On Sunday and Monday, Maine saw heavy rains that left thousands without electricity. The Carrabassett River was so swollen it washed away a bridge.

The swollen river engulfs the bridge in Maine as a flash flood is felt

Heavy rains also led to flooding in New Hampshire. It had been several years since the Saco River had brought such severe flooding to the city of Conway. Several streets were completely washed away.

Extensive flooding hits eastern New Hampshire as the rain continues

They say April rains bring May flowers, and that’s not true! We saw a ton of rain in April and are now seeing flowers all over Southeast Texas. Check out this Click2Pin submitted by KurtAndCarol at Exploration Green in Clear Lake City! Coreopsis is everywhere and it’s beautiful! Want to share a photo or video with us? Go to Click2Pins.com to share yours.

It’s May and coreopsis is appearing everywhere (Exploration Green in Clear Lake City). -KurtAndCarol (Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)

Always stay safe,

Carolina

Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.

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