Dust Storms When? (Alamogordo, Ruidoso, Tularosa: agricultural, moving, car)

[Canine*Castle]

I was driving from CA to TX in 1969 and had to pull over in a dust storm. I think it was on the CA desert. Anyway, my poor little 1968 Datsun got sand blasted.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

I was driving from CA to TX in 1969 and had to pull over in a dust storm. I think it was on the CA desert. Anyway, my poor little 1968 Datsun got sand blasted.

I almost did have to pull over last year when I was coming back from Farmington last year. I had high winds all the way from Roswell, NM to Plains, TX, and visibility in the red blowing sand was almost nil.

[free spirit]

My family is thinking about moving to Silver City, is it very windy there like it is in
T or C NM ? How high of altitude would you have to move too get out of this wind.
Please give me cities names we are not from this area. We moved from FL to get
out of the hurricanes.

[jsc23]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

IMNSHO, yes, especially West Texas and the Panhandle.

On an average day, the wind in Amarillo is 19 mph. (Chicago is around 11mph) Winds gusting up to 100mph are not unheard of. "The Wind" is a classic silent movie starring Lillian Gish as a homestead farm wife in the Texas Panhandle. The wind and empty space drive her to psychotic homicidal rampage.

Late April to early June is generally dust storm time. Your most likely to encounter them in SE NM in the cotton and peanut farm country near the Texas line. Not only are the winds blowing then, but the ground has been freshly broken for the spring planting.

Ironically, the area that was epicenter of the Dust Bowl (Dalhart Tx- Cimmaron-Boise City OK) experiences very few dust storms these days. Plowed acreage in this country is at pre-World War I levels: range grasses bind the soil. However, it still gets pretty nasty being downwind from the feedlots or the pig factories... for those who have driven I 40 towards Amarillo and wondered about the greenish haze hovering over the city...

[TKO]

I've been in both Ruidoso and Cloudcroft when it rained dirt. Darndest thing, the dust storm when it rose over the mountains turned into rain and it was half dirt. Covered everything in camp with a brown film.

[debbie at bouontiful]

I live in North Eastern OK on a ranch in the hilly area and we get sand storms from Texas. I mean you can't see out, it looks like fog. I was shocked. How did it travel all the way here.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by jsc23

On an average day, the wind in Amarillo is 19 mph. (Chicago is around 11mph) Winds gusting up to 100mph are not unheard of. "The Wind" is a classic silent movie starring Lillian Gish as a homestead farm wife in the Texas Panhandle. The wind and empty space drive her to psychotic homicidal rampage.

Late April to early June is generally dust storm time. Your most likely to encounter them in SE NM in the cotton and peanut farm country near the Texas line. Not only are the winds blowing then, but the ground has been freshly broken for the spring planting.

Ironically, the area that was epicenter of the Dust Bowl (Dalhart Tx- Cimmaron-Boise City OK) experiences very few dust storms these days. Plowed acreage in this country is at pre-World War I levels: range grasses bind the soil. However, it still gets pretty nasty being downwind from the feedlots or the pig factories... for those who have driven I 40 towards Amarillo and wondered about the greenish haze hovering over the city...

I hear you on the blowing dust, cleared land, feedlots.....I am a Tech-ex, and spent 4 years in Lubbock!! It got pretty bad on some days, too.

Here in Alamogordo, the white sands and dust blow....we had a minor one yesterday, but not bad. There has been only one really bad duststorm since I've been here, and that was in early March. We were driving to Tularosa...and visibility wasn't bad. Most days are sunny and clear.

[rruff]

Originally Posted by free spirit

My family is thinking about moving to Silver City, is it very windy there like it is in
T or C NM ? How high of altitude would you have to move too get out of this wind.
Please give me cities names we are not from this area. We moved from FL to get
out of the hurricanes.

SC has some dust storms, but I wouldn't worry about it... it is nothing like a hurricane force. Going high will only get you out of the dust. I live in Ruidoso (7000ft). It is super windy right now... 35mph with gusts to 50. No big deal, though and no dust issues. Late March and April are usually the windiest times.

[mortimer]

free spirit wondered:

> How high of altitude would you have to move too get out of this wind.

100,000 feet should do it.

The spring winds are fed by the Jet Stream.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by free spirit

My family is thinking about moving to Silver City, is it very windy there like it is in
T or C NM ? How high of altitude would you have to move too get out of this wind.
Please give me cities names we are not from this area. We moved from FL to get
out of the hurricanes.

The winds are nothing like hurricanes, in the spring there are breezey days and a dust storm one to three days out of the season.

The nice thing about the dry winds in the lower or desert altitudes is they don't bring the danger of forest fires like they do higher up. As beautiful as the forests are, they are quite dry and forest fires are a lot worse than a windy day.