Fast-moving dust storm sweeps across Chicago area
A time-lapse video shows how quickly the Chicago skyline disappeared as the wall of dust blew through.
"This looks like a bad thunderstorm coming through, but you can tell that it's just not a thunderstorm. It's dust. It's straight up dust," Thomas Jean-Mastej said.
The National Weather Service said it was the result of 60 to 70 mph winds that blew over dry farmlands, collecting dust into the air, and blowing it through the Chicago area.
The dust swept over Interstate 55, forcing some drivers to pull over and not take the chance, especially after dust storm alerts hit their phones.
Jean-Mastej pulled off and took out his phone to record the rare sight.
"I was heading home, and the alert came up on my phone, and then my husband texted me, and then he called me. He's like, 'Get off the interstate right now. It's coming.' I was like, 'I can see it on the South Side,'" he said.
The dust storm blew through a high school graduation ceremony in far southwest suburban Morris.
When the dust storm hit, visibility in some spots quickly dropped to zero, and those standing outside could feel the debris blow in the wind.
"You can feel it. You can feel the dirt in your eyes, and everything like that. You really have to have glasses on or something," Tom Nichin said.
Planes coming into Midway International Airport made their way through the dust storm as a ground stop halted incoming flights for about an hour, while Chicago area expressways were more backed up than usual because drivers found themselves driving right into the wall of dust.
"It's like something out of the history books, you know? Unbelievable," Nichin said.
According to the National Weather Service, it was only the second time their Chicago office has issued a dust storm warning, and the first time such a warning included the city itself.
Dust storm warnings are more common in the rural parts of central and southern Illinois.
"You don't think that you would see this in the city," Jean-Mastej said.
For most areas hit by the dust storm, skies cleared up within 30 to 45 minutes.
Jermont Terry joined the CBS 2 team in October 2019. He's born and raised on Chicago's South Side. He's happy to return home to report on his community after 18 years of uncovering stories across the country.
