Black Saturday, Australia (2009)

 Black Saturday Bushfires of Australia (2009)

        In Victoria, the Southernmost region of Australia, one of the most lethal fires in the country's history scorched the surface during the late summer of 2009. Over 400 fires burned to create a massive fire complex that affected 78 communities in the form of fatality and property damage (AIDR, 2014). Those communities that were affected most significantly included Beechworth, Bunyip, Churchill, Kinglake, Narre Warren, and Redesdale, all of which were either included in or reside nearby a national park or reserve (AIDR, 2014). As one of the deadliest, most damaging, and most expensive wildfire complexes the country has ever experienced, it only increases curiosity of how these fires will continue to grow and get worse at climate change continues to impact the planet. 

Image 1. This image shows an Australian fire vehicle racing away from smoke and flames in Northeastern Victoria (The Advertiser). 

        On February 7th, 2009, a fire complex arguably worse than the infamous Ash Wednesday fires of Australia's past ignited the landscape. Leading up to Saturday the 7th, the country had been experiencing an intense and widespread heatwave, producing fuel that had been allowed 2 months to heat and dry out. This heatwave included some of the hottest days Australia had experienced at that point in time, as well (National Museum of Australia, 2020). As the sun rose on the morning of the 7th, north westerly winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour covered the state with hot and dry air from central Australia. While the wind helped create the conditions for the "perfect fire" to ignite, it also forced powerlines to collapse that actually sparked the flame (National Museum of Australia, 2020). This fire of origin from Kilmore finally blew its way across the freeway just before 2 p.m., and moved Southeast to encompass the remaining victim communities of the bushfires. Before 7 p.m., over 400 fires were inflamed (National Museum of Australia, 2020). Many of these fires even saw instances of flames soaring 20 to 30 meters high (National Museum of Australia, 2020). Directly or indirectly, 173 Australians lost their lives during this period, and over 2,000 homes were completely destroyed (AIDR, 2014). Human casualty and property loss were extremely widespread during this summer, but many wildlife experts in Australia estimated that wildlife loss was even more disastrous. Going off of basic assumptions and predictions, experts estimate that over a million individual animals may have died, as well. Some of these include organisms that reside within the boundaries of state, national, or wild sanctuaries, reserves, or parks (Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2009). 

Image 2. This map displays an area of reference for where the occurrence of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires took place (Encyclopedia Brittanica).  

        To battle the seemingly endless fires that scoured the state, the Australian government deployed over 19,000 County Fire Authority personnel in either incident control, or other various roles (AIDR, 2014). By the end of February, over $30 million was allocated by the Australian Government Disaster Recovery, including payments of $10,000 to bereaved families, $7,500 to the severely injured, and $5,000 to those who lost homes (AIDR, 2014). By April, Australia also received $379 million from a bushfire appeal fund established by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross (AIDR, 2014). The Insurance Council of Australia calculated the cost of damages in Victoria reached $1,070,000,000 by the end of 2009, but eventually creeped up higher all the way to $1,266,000,000 by the end of 2011 (AIDR, 2014). The state government issued the State Health Emergency Response Plan was activated at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of February 7th. This emergency response plan was set into place to plan, mitigate, pre-deploy essential resources, and utilize other agencies (Cameron, 2009). While the Australian government pleaded that they did everything in their power to prevent, mitigate, and recover, a Royal Commission assigned to investigate the governmental emergency response was savagely critical of Victoria's response agencies. The report indicated that warnings given out to at-risk communities were either severely inadequate or even non-existent. Warnings were failed to be issued by those responsible, communities were alerted and left their homes to only see fires at their front steps, poor decision making all led to the confusion and chaos that was the result (Stewart, 2009). This report also distinguished that of the 173 humans that lost their lives, 113 of them died in their homes that were deemed "undefendable from fire" (Stewart, 2009). If the preparation and response to the fires themselves went extremely poorly, so would be that of the recovery. Hospitals were completely unprepared and inept to handle the amount of burn patients or other victims during a period of declared heat/fire emergency by the Australian government. The Alfred Emergency and Trauma Center (E&TC), a major hospital in Victoria, had 3 emergency physicians, two advanced trainees in medicine, two hospital medical officers, and one intern on duty. There were also 17 nurses on staff, 8 of which being effectively trained in critical care and only 3 with expertise in burns and intensive care (Cameron, 2009). Overall, it is believed that the medical response to the bushfires were "acute" at best (Cameron, 2009). 

    

Image 3. This image shows the results of a forest affected by the bushfires of 2009 in Victoria (BBC News). 

        Personally, it is seemingly simple and easy to see where the Australian government fell short on their emergency response. Officials responsible for notification of warnings were not good enough or able to do their jobs and were never held liable, the government as a whole acted extremely lacklusterly, and the hospitals that were closest to the events were incredibly unprepared to handle a natural disaster that is becoming ever so increasingly common in Australia.  

Video 1. This video rolls footage of of remembrance of the Black Saturday bushfires, as well as firsthand accounts and reactions. 

Sources:

Black Saturday bushfires. (2020, September 09). Retrieved November 28, 2020, from    https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/black-saturday-bushfires

Black Saturday: The bushfire disaster that shook Australia. (2019, February 07). Retrieved November    30, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47038202

Bushfire - Black Saturday, Victoria, 2009: Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub. (2014). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/bushfire-black- saturday-victoria-2009/

Cameron, P. (2009, July 06). Black Saturday: The immediate impact of the February 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2009/191/1/black-saturday-immediate-impact-february-2009- bushfires-victoria-australia

Stewart, C. (2009). The Australian "Black Saturday" Bushfires of 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-australian-black-saturday-bushfires- of-2009

Victoria Remembers Black Saturday devestation. (2020). Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/victoria-remembers-black-saturday- devastation/video/7d2d89b4b075ffff6dcfebc22329bb31

Hurricane Katrina 2005

 Hurricane Katrina 2005    

    During the summer of 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern portion of the United States. The hurricane struck the Gulf of Mexico and caused extensive damages throughout Louisiana, and Mississippi. New Orleans was hit particularly hard by the weather event. The hurricane continued strong from August 23rd to August 31st. 

A tropical depression formed over the Bahamas on August 23rd, 2005. When this storm was forming it was obvious that it would make landfall and citizens were already being evacuated on August 28th, 2005; but some predicted that the area would be “uninhabitable” after the damage (History.com, 2009). This depression would soon form into Hurricane Katrina and would make landfall on the morning of August 29th, 2005 (History.com, 2009). When the hurricane hit land on August 29th it was a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (History.com, 2009). Winds were as strong as 170 miles per hour (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). Much of Louisiana was affected by the storm but New Orleans, in particular, had acquired heavy amounts of damage. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes, and thousands more were not even able to go to a shelter (History.com, 2009). By the afternoon of August 29th, roughly 20 percent of the city was covered in water (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). The human environment for that area was destroyed, people were without basic necessities like food, water, and shelter some people resorted to looting in order to survive (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). The hurricane caused gas and chemical spills all over the area, which resulted in severe pollution and human illnesses brought on by the toxins in the water (Olson, 2005). The extreme weather also caused extensive damage to the coastal wetlands, causing erosion which washed away much of the soil (Palaseanu-Lovejoy, 2018). 

Extreme weather cannot be controlled by humans, humans just have to live with the consequences of these weather events. Hurricane Katrina was not managed in a way that everyone was helped, thousands of people were homeless during a flood. Those of low socioeconomic status were greatly impacted by the hurricane because many people were unable to evacuate the area (History.com, 2009). The federal government was not prepared enough for the damage of this event; The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took several days to set up an operation in New Orleans (History.com, 2009). Next time an extreme weather event happens, the federal government should plan for the worst, “planners have an obligation to take an active role and advocate for the funding and full participation necessary to achieve these goals” (Campanella, 2008). The flooding that occurred during the hurricane was because the levees were overwhelmed with the sheer amount of water. The New Orleans area would benefit from new levees and other forms of water management that would be inspected regularly for quality (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). Hurricane season happens every year, that is why it is important to find ways to take part in preventative measures such as strengthening barriers or even relocating homes and businesses. Many people lost their lives and their homes due to Hurricane Katrina but it is important to make sure it does not happen again.

Images:

This is a satellite image of Hurricane Katrina, the eye of the hurricane is clearly defined. The storm system is large and spans across the Gulf of Mexico. It shows how large the storm was, and why it did so much damage.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina 

Serious flooding occurred from the hurricane, many people lost their homes and were displaced. It is important to remember the people that were personally affected by this natural disaster.

https://morningconsult.com/2015/08/30/hurricane-katrina-and-the-politics-of-disaster/ 

The levees flooded due to the hurricane and New Orleans suffered from severe flooding. Infrastructure precautions are an important step to keeping a population safe from the weather patterns of the region.

https://www.vox.com/2015/8/23/9191907/hurricane-katrina 

   

Video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7unlPvNxLLA&ab_channel=NationalGeographic 

This video describes the reasons that New Orleans was struck so hard by hurricane Katrina. There are protections for the city that are manmade and natural, such as the wetlands. New Orleans is currently sinking because sediment is not able to wash up naturally onto land. 

Sources: 

Campanella, Thomas J. “Planning After Hurricane Katrina.” Taylor & Francis, 29 Jan. 2008, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944360608976735.

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Hurricane Katrina.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2020, www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina.

History.com Editors. “Hurricane Katrina.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/hurricane-katrina.

Lopez, German. “Hurricane Katrina, in 7 Essential Facts.” Vox, Vox, 23 Aug. 2015, www.vox.com/2015/8/23/9191907/hurricane-katrina.

Olson, Erik D. “The Environmental Effects of Hurricane Katrina.” Nrdc.org, 6 Oct. 2005, www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/leg_05100601A.pdf.

Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Monica. How Hurricanes Shape Wetlands in Southern Louisiana, 17 May 2018, ocean.si.edu/ecosystems/coasts-shallow-water/how-hurricanes-shape-wetlands-southern-louisiana.

2011 Super Outbreak (tornado)

The 2011 super outbreak began on April 25 and lasted until April 28 with the majority of tornadoes occurring from the 26 of that month to the 28th with the 27th being the most active and destructive day with 199 tornadoes recorded in that 24 hour period. These tornadoes occurred across the southern, central and eastern United States and affected the states of Mississippi, Alabama which fared the worst amongst all the states affected, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Ohio and New York. The outbreak began on April 25th when a strong cold front approached the Gulf of Mexico, where the dew points and moisture levels were high and the perfect amount of wind shear was present to give the perfect setup for supercell thunderstorms and tornadic activity. On April 25 the main storm activity was over Northeast Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee with the majority of the 69 recorded tornadoes being less than EF2 in intensity. The following day saw the similar set up over the same area with 50 tornadoes recorded over Eastern Texas to Western Kentucky. But the following day on April 27th was a recorded breaking day with over 199 tornadoes being recorded over that 24 hour period with some estimates being at 207 tornadoes. This day spawned deadly and destructive tornadoes across the entire south with the worst being in the state of Alabama where a EF4 tornado flatten towns and destroyed 10% of the residential area in Tuscaloosa, this particular storm tracked over 80 miles and was part of a thunderstorm cluster that had produced tornadoes over a 342 mile stretch from Mississippi to North Carolina. The Tuscaloosa was not the only strong tornado recorded that day but there was also 3 EF5, 12 EF4 and 21 EF3 tornadoes that struck throughout Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky that afternoon into the evening. The day following the active day on the 27th we saw another 43 tornadoes reported from the residual system that spawned from Georgia to New York with 4 EF2 and one deadly EF3 twister that spun up with the rest being less EF1 or EF0. Over the course of the outbreak there were 300 tornadoes recorded across 15 states beating the previous record that was made during the 1974 Super Outbreak that spawned 148 tornadoes and killed 315 people.

EF4 Tornado damage over Tuscaloosa, Alabama following the tornado outbreak on April 27, 2011

Map of confirmed tornado touchdowns from April 26 to April 28, 2011

The month of April in 2011 was considered the most deadliest and destructive outbreak since records began in 1950 with about 90% of the supercells of the course of the April Super Outbreak producing at least one tornado with many being long tracked and intense. The outbreak had cost the United States 11-15 billion dollars in damage with just the debris cleanup in Tuscaloosa being around 100 million alone. The importance of this event is that even with the level of early warning that was provided by the National Weather Service Forecasting Offices there was still a high level of deaths at 315 people and 2900 injured showing the need for better awareness over these dangerous storms and education over what to do when there is a tornado watch or warning as this information is crucial in moments leading up to a severe weather event. This event destruction could not have been prevented as many of these storms went through suburban and urban centers causing 10 million cubic yards of debris as even with early warning systems and forecasting in place there was still widespread devastation and deaths. But one method to help prevent further events like this is to mitigate climate change as currently with the warming that has occurred there has been an uptick in the number of tornadoes with many researchers believe that climate change will increase the amount of tornadoes especially after the 2 degree warming point. But currently there is still disagreement on if global warming will contribute to more storms or not as the warm air from the gulf could cause the cold air from the Rockies to warm up causing less wind shear for the storms to form on, but at the same time extra moisture coming from the warming gulf could help intensify the contrast between the two air masses making storms more plausible. But one thing that all researchers are coming to agreement on is that climate change is causing tornadoes to shift their range as the dry 100 meridian moves eastward, and with this movement we are seeing tornadoes become more common eastward and northward into the southeast and great lakes regions.

Graphic showing in recent times tornadoes are increasingly occurring more east of the original tornado alley

This video explains the ingredients in place for this super outbreak to happen and how this is the second named super outbreak. The video also talked about records that were broken during the month of April in regards to Tornadoes and the timeline of these storms. 

References:

Amadeo. K. (2020). Tornado Damage to the Economy. Thebalance. https://www.thebalance.com/tornado-damage-to-the-economy-3305667

Knupp, K. R. and Coauthors. (2014). Meteorological overview of the devasting 27 April 2011 Tornado Outbreak. Bull. Amer. Metero. Soc. 90, 1041-1067. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00229.1.

Rafferty. J. (2020). Super Outbreak of 2011. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/super-outbreak-of-2011

Sosnowski, A. (2019). Remembering the deadly super tornado outbreak of 2011. Accuweather. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/remembering-the-deadly-super-tornado-outbreal-of-2011/331951

WeatherNation. (2019). April 27, 2011 super outbreak: 8 years later. WeatherNation. https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/2011-super-tornado-outbreak-look-back/

 

Oregon Wildfire Season, 2020

 

Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge (USA Today, 2020)

Sources:

Green, K. (2020, March 09). Story from Keep Oregon Green: 3 recent Oregon wildfires started by people. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/sponsor-story/keep-oregon-green/2020/03/06/3-recent-wildfires-started-people/4967348002/

Cantrell, M. (n.d.). The Effects of Wildfires in the Western United States: With Close Attention to Northern California and Southern Oregon. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mary_Cantrell4/publication/344359739_The_Effects_of_Wildfires_in_the_Western_United_States_With_Close_Attention_to_Northern_California_and_Southern_Oregon/links/5f6c087c299bf1b53eedc4be/The-Effects-of-Wildfires-in-the-Western-United-States-With-Close-Attention-to-Northern-California-and-Southern-Oregon.pdf

"Black Summer" The Australian Bushfires of 2019-2020

     The 2019/20 Bushfire Season in Australia began in June 2019, and all fires were either contained or extinct by March 4, 2020 (Disaster Philanthropy, 2019). Although the bushfires burned across all six states, the areas most affected were New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia.

https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/hazardnotes/68

    In the 2019/20 Bushfire season, more than 46 million acres (18,615,540 Hectares, 72,000 mi2) were burned, 34 human lives were lost directly related to the fires (CDP, 2019), and at least 445 human lives were lost indirectly (smoke inhalation), and put over 4,000 people in the hospital (Walhquist, 2020). Overall, the economic impact will far exceed the Black Saturday fires that cost USD $2.9 billion (CDP, 2019). Overall, the economic impact will far exceed the Black Saturday fires that cost USD $2.9 billion (CDP, 2019). Economist John Quiggin from the University of Queensland estimates USD 75,332,400 (A100 billion) of tangible costs as of January 6, 2020 (The Conversation, 2020). It is noted that the actual cost of this natural disaster will not be known for some time, as there are several weeks of fire season remaining (The Conversation, 2020). Of the total area burnt, 8.9 million hectares of native forest was burnt (Davey et al., 2020)

    The Black Summer bushfires burned more area than any fire in New South Wales (NSW), with one of them being the largest forest fire in all of Australian history (Filkov et al., 2020). In Victoria, the season brought the highest number of fires, area burned, and second highest of houses burned this season. New South Wales had the highest number of area burned in the last 20 years, and South Australia had the highest number of homes lost during that season, as well as in the last 20 years (Filkov et al., 2020). 

              On record, 2019 was Australia’s warmest year (excluding parts of northwest Queensland and the northern tropics). Figure 1 shows the mean temperatures compared to historical observations (A) and mean temperature anomalies (B) (Filkov et al., 2020). January 2019 was Australia's warmest month. 2019 was also the driest year, with the amount of rainfall below 40% below the average for 1961-1990. In fact, for 70% of Australia, rainfall totals were in the lowest 10% of historical observations, with July 2019- December 2019 being among the ten driest for their month (Filkov et al., 2020). Figure 2 shows the rainfall deciles for (1990 to) 2019 (A) and annual mean rain (B), the black lines shows the moving average). The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is the main contributor to the climate of Australia, and it was a strong positive in 2019, which contributed to the drought in Australia and low humidity (and intense flooding in Africa) (Filkov et al., 2020). The IOD disperses sea surface temperatures between Africa and Australia, so a positive IOD contributes to drought in Australia and floods in Africa, and the reverse when negative (Filkov et al., 2020). The combination of “a record of dryness, based on rainfall and evaporation, with meteorological variables for wind speed, temperature, and humidity” (Filkov et al., 2020) is used to measure the fire danger in the forests of Australia, called the Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI). The FFDI, combined with high temperatures, caused an increase in fuel availability (Filkov et al., 2020). By spring, more than 95% had an FFDI above average, 60% of which were the highest on record for a particular area (Filkov et al., 2020). The states with record highs were New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Tasmania (Filkov et al., 2020).  Figure 3 shows the spring 2019 accumulation of FFDI in Australia (A), as well as the accumulated values from 1950 to 2019 (B); the black line is the linear trendline for the data (Filkov et al., 2020).

(Filkov et al., 2020)

        

    I would like to say that prescribed burns will mitigate this in the future, but climate change and global warming may make them a futile attempt in some areas. The Parliament of Australia has outlined several ways they mitigate catastrophic fires including preventing fire ignition, reducing intensity by reducing fuel load, improving measures taken to protect life and assets in built areas and making communities more resilient to fire, and educating the public. In regards to arson, it is rare for law enforcement to identify those responsible but if caught the arsonist will face prosecution (Parliament of Australia). The Parliament of Australia also recognizes that fire is a natural occurrence in Australia, therefore complete prevention will not be possible. 

Sources:

 

Center for Disaster Philantropy (CDP). 2019. Updated 2020, October. 2019-2020 Australian Bushfires. September 9. Accessed 12/11/2020. https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disaster/2019-australian-wildfires/

Davey, S. M., A. Sarre. 2020. Editorial: the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires’. June 04. Australian Forestry. Volume 83, 2020. Issue 2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049158.2020.1769899

Filkov, Alexander I., Tuan Ngo, Stuart Matthews, Simeon Telfer, Trent D. Penman. 2020. Impact of Australia’s catastrophic 2019/20 bushfire season on communiites and environment. Retrospective analysis and current trends. Journal of Safety Science and Resilience, Volume 1, Issue 1. Pages 44-56. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666449620300098

Parliament of Australia. ND. Chapter 3—bushfire mitigation. Accessed 12/11/2020. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Former_Committees/agric/completed_inquiries/2008-10/bushfires/report/c03

The Conversation. 2020. With costs approaching $100 billion, the fires are Australia’s costliest natural disaster. January 16. Accessed 12/11/20

Wahlquist, Calla. 2020. Australia’s summer bushfire smoke killed 445 and put thousands in hospital, inquiry hears. May 20. Accessed 12/11/2020. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/australias-summer-bushfire-smoke-killed-445-and-put-thousands-in-hospital-inquiry-hears

Black Sunday 1935

    On April 15, 1935, the worst dust storm of the Dust Bowl, and that the country has ever seen, struck the United States. A cold front from Canada swept through the U.S. that morning, picking up loose soil along the way (Tarshis). The most hard-hit areas were the U.S. southern planes, including Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (Greenspan). Poor agricultural practices resulted in severe soil erosion, leaving thousands of acres of bare soil. This, plus the droughts of the thirties, proved to be the perfect conditions for a massive dust storm. The dust cloud was 1,000 miles long and blew at speeds up to 100 miles per hour (Blakemore). The first wall of dust hit Oklahoma around 4 p.m. and an even worse wave hit parts of Texas around 7:20 p.m. (National Weather Service). 

The Black Sunday dust wall approaching Rolla, Kansas (Greenspan)

This day is referred to as "Black Sunday" because it seemed as if a mountain of darkness was sweeping over the planes. A sunny day was soon turned into a "horrible blackness that was darker than the darkest night" (National Weather Service). Drivers had to take refuge in their cars while other residents hid under beds and in storm shelters or fire stations (Greenspan). It's unclear if any deaths were specifically related to the dust storms on Black Sunday, but there were many injuries. 300,000 tons of dirt were dumped across 100 million acres of land. This destroyed wildlife and made agriculture impossible. Fields were leveled and many people went blind (Blakemore). What crops were left of the Dust Bowl withered and remaining cattle were wiped out by the storm. The land finally seemed impossible to revive, so many migrated to California after the Black Sunday storm. 

    Black Sunday, specifically, had many implications on current land use practices and government relief. This event turned soil conservation into a national priority. The storm's destructiveness forced the government to pay farmers to take marginal lands out of production (Greenspan). In 1936, Congress financed a program that would pay farmers to use new farming techniques, such as contour plowing, that would conserve topsoil and gradually restore the land. The Soil Conservation Service was established a year later, and "by the following year, soil loss had been reduced by 65%" even though the drought continued up until 1939 (West). This proves that human use of the land was the main contributing factor to the Black Sunday dust storm and the Dust Bowl as a whole. The knowledge we gained from these incidences have helped us to prevent another devastating dust storm in the southern planes. 

Visibility of Garden City, Kansas 15 minutes after storm hits
(National Weather Service).

Visibility of Garden City, Kansas minutes before 
the dust cloud arrived.
(National Weather Service).

Footage from Black Sunday. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xfiwICl7SI)

Drought-plagued farmers in the Plains were overwhelmed when a massive dust storm hit on Sunday, April 14, 1935. This was nothing like previous dust storms of the Dust Bowl. Daylight turned to night in Oklahoma and Texas.

Sources

Blakemore, E. (2017, January 18). Black Sunday: The Storm That Gave Us the Dust Bowl. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63098/black-sunday-storm-gave-us-dust-bowl

Greenspan, J. (2015, April 14). What Happened on Black Sunday? Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/remembering-black-sunday

Tarshis, L., & Brown, B. (2019). THE DAY THE SKY TURNED BLACK: In 1935, people of the Southern Plains         suffered through one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history: Black Sunday, the biggest dust storm the country has ever seen. Junior Scholastic/Current Events, 9, 16.

US Department of Commerce, N. (2017, April 14). The Black Sunday Dust Storm of April 14, 1935. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19350414

West, L. (n.d.). The Dust Bowl: The Worst Environmental Disaster in the United States. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/worst-us-environmental-disasters-1203696