A wall of dust nears the National Weather Service office in Romeoville, Illinois, Friday evening before sweeping east into Northwest Indiana. The weather service said the dust storm was the worst to strike Chicagoland since 1934.
Dan Carden
The dust storm that blew through Northwest Indiana Friday evening was the worst to hit the Region in more than nine decades.
According to the National Weather Service, the last time a similarly significant dust storm struck the Chicagoland area was May 10, 1934, amid the Dust Bowl.
That environmental catastrophe of the 1930s saw topsoil from drought-impacted farms in Oklahoma and Kansas form huge clouds of dust that were carried by strong winds to the east -- regularly darkening daytime skies in Chicago, New York and Washington.
The May 11, 1934, edition of The Times described the previous day as "probably the worst dust storm in the history of the state," with visibility reduced to less than ¾ of a mile for 20 consecutive hours at the Indianapolis airport.
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Friday's dust storm developed near Bloomington, Illinois, and was pushed into Northwest Indiana by a cluster of severe thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
Visibility dropped to near zero and winds gusted over 60 mph at the peak of the dust storm.
Gallery: Indiana historical markers in the Region First Physician Great Sauk (Sac) Trail St. John's Lutheran Church Tolleston Dutch in the Calumet Region St. John Township School, District #2 The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section Froebel School - side 1 Froebel School Stewart Settlement House Stewart Settlement House Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Bailly Homestead Iron Brigade Willow Creek Confrontation Ogden ski jump.jpg Teale 1.jpg Teale 2.jpg Steel 1.jpg Steel 2.jpg Civil War camps.jpg Old lighthouse.jpg Railroad.jpg Camp Anderson.jpg Boundary line 1.jpg Boundary line 2.jpg LaPorte courthouse 1.jpg LaPorte courthouse 2.jpg Carnegie 1.jpg Carnegie 2.jpg Rumely Co 1.jpg Rumely Co 2.jpg Lincoln train 1.jpg Lincoln train 2.jpg LaPorte university 1.jpg Laporte university 2.jpg Gary Roosevelt 1 Gary Roosevelt 2 Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus 1.jpg Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus 2.jpg Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Dan Carden
Chief Political Reporter
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