See it: Huge wall of dust smothers Australian town
theweathernetwork.com
Thursday, November 8, 2018, 2:46 PM - A dust storm enveloped White Cliffs, in New South Wales on November 6, according to a number of social media posts from the region showing a wall of red dust towering over the town.
The now-viral footage seen above was posted by Glyn Daniel Dare. In it, an intense wall of dust can be seen approaching the outback town from the south.
(RELATED: Australian heat wave melts roads)
The dust storm comes as New South Wales battles drought conditions, with some areas reporting the driest 18-month spell since records began in 1900, according to the Daily Telegraph.
While the dust storm was followed by rain, local news reports say only 15 mm fell -- not nearly enough to recoup the 18-month water shortage.
For conditions to return closer to normal, Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Dr. Simon Grainger tells the BBC some some regions of New South Wales would need 200-300 mm of rain spread over at least three months-- more than the 191mm - that the area averaged per month since January.
STRONG WINDS CAUSE TREE BRANCH TO SMASH CAR
Elsewhere in the state, and on the same day, a young man is lucky to escape death during a violent storm Tuesday, November 6, when a tree branch impaled his car windshield near Taree, New South Wales.
Daniel Sowter was driving home from work through Cedar Party when a massive storm hit, causing a tree to fall onto his vehicle and pierce his windshield.
The branch narrowly missed his body, but Sowter's knee was injured.
“Another few inches to the left and it could have been fatal!” his mother Leona told Storyful.
