On Monday at 4:14 p.m. a dust storm warning was released by the National Weather Service in effect until 5:15 p.m. The warning is for Crane, Pecos, Reeves and Ward counties.

“At 4:13 p.m., a wall of dust was along a line extending from near Saragosa to 11 miles southwest of Grandfalls to 14 miles south of West Odessa, moving northeast at 30 mph,” explains the NWS. “Dangerous life-threatening travel.”

Locations impacted by the warning include Monahans, Balmorhea, Thorntonville, Grandfalls, Pyote, Balmorhea Lake, Balmorhea State Park, Saragosa, Wickett, Coyanosa, Imperial Reservoir, Roy Hurd Memorial Airport, Royalty, Verhalen, B F Goodrich Testing Track, Toyahvale, Imperial, Cordona Lake and Monahans Sandhills State Park. This includes the following highways: Interstate 10 between mile markers 203 and 237. Interstate 20 between mile markers 63 and 88.

The NWS comments, “Dust storms lead to dangerous driving conditions with visibility reduced to near zero. If driving, avoid dust storms if possible. If caught in one, pull off the road, turn off your lights and keep your foot off the brake.”

Source: The National Weather Service