IFR for blowing dust

[aterpster]

We have had years where the sky was constantly yellow with dust, the wind would start at 10 am and grow in intensity all day, exceeding 40kts. Crap blowing around town, trucks getting blown over, roofs sailing away, doors busted or ripped off hinges (@Stewartb) everyone choking on the dust, cows flying past, vis down to a mile, for days on end all April. Some say there are more suicides during these storms. Thank God they do not happen every year - this year was awesome; gentle and halcyonic here.

When I was in the Air Force many years ago, the folklore was that Lubbock and Wichita Falls were the only places in the world where you could be standing in mad up to your butt, and have dust blowing in your face.

 

[Ghery]

We have had years where the sky was constantly yellow with dust, the wind would start at 10 am and grow in intensity all day, exceeding 40kts. Crap blowing around town, trucks getting blown over, roofs sailing away, doors busted or ripped off hinges (@Stewartb) everyone choking on the dust, cows flying past, vis down to a mile, for days on end all April. Some say there are more suicides during these storms. Thank God they do not happen every year - this year was awesome; gentle and halcyonic here.

We lived SW of Denver for 4 years in the early 1980s. I think August was the only month we lived there where we didn't see snow at least once. As far as winds causing suicides is concerned, go re-read Michener's Centennial. There is a sequence in there that illustrates this.

The feds say so: "The US Census Bureau says Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin constitute the region known as the Midwest."

I believe in the early 1800s it was Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

My math teacher at Newton HS in Newton, MA had been "out west to Ohio" once. That was "out west"? Where the heck did he think I was from (eastern Washington state)?

 

[benyflyguy]

Since I live and fly on the east coast, I can't imagine encountering blowing dust... I would imagine that flying in that crap for a prolonged time would not be good for engines..

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

We get higher than usual silicates in the oil analysis, and a good coating of it on the air filters but mostly it does not hurt engines that I have seen in 27 years here. Well, the turbines get some abrasion on the fan and compressor blades as does the turboprop blades.
Last week I flew through smoke for 20 minutes (if its not dust storms, wicked thunderstorms, it's apparently smoke) I thought I was going to pass out or kack. Even checked the CO monitor to see if it recorded anything (silly, I know - but it was bad, vis dropped from 50 to 5mi)