A storm gathering strength over Texas today will shift to the Mid-Atlantic through Tuesday night. Areas of freezing rain and heavy snow will spread from the central Plains east into the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Further south, areas of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are possible from the southern Plains into the Ohio Valley. A Pacific storm will move into the Southwest Monday. Read More >
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"Suddenly there appeared on the northern horizon a black blizzard, moving toward them; there was no sound, no wind, nothing but an immense 'boogery' cloud. Donald Worster, Dust Bowl – The Southern Plains in the 1930s. [From https://www.perryton.com/black.htm]
"Borger reported the storm struck at 6:15 PM; Amarillo at 7:20 PM; Boise City, Oklahoma, at 5:35 PM; and Dalhart at 5:15 PM." Ochiltree County Herald (Perryton TX), 18 April 1935. [Other reports suggest the actual time in Boise City was more likely 4:35 PM.]
"Some People Thought the End of the World was at Hand when Every Trace of Daylight was Obliterated at 4:00 PM." Liberal News, 15 April 1935.
"The Worst I Ever Seen." Northwest Oklahoman (Shattuck), 16 April 1935.
"Worst dust storm ever known in this country on 14 of April." Observer, Beaver OK.
"When dust obscures sun, is it 'cloudy?'" Observer, Pampa TX.
"...A huge cloud of black top soil swooped down upon Laverne in the manner of a heavy cloud flattening out upon the earth and spread absolute darkness the like of which has never been experienced by most Harper county folk." The Leader Tribune, Laverne, 18 April 1935.
"...a great black bank rolled in out of the northeast, and in a twinkling when it struck Liberal, plunged everything into inky blackness, worse than that on any midnight, when there is at least some starlight and outlines of objects can be seen. When the storm struck it was impossible to see one's hand before his face even two inches away. And it was several minutes before any trace of daylight whatsoever returned." Liberal News, 15 April 1935.
"The billowing black cloud struck Amarillo at 7:20 o'clock and visibility was zero for 12 minutes." Amarillo Daily News, 15 April 1935 (from the Associated Press).
"Mr. Williamson... had mounted a horse and was headed toward the fire when he met this great dust cloud, and was enveloped in darkness. The electrical current was so strong that it snapped from ear to ear on his bronco, and the cow chips ignited by the fire would roll hundreds of yards kindling the grass as they rolled and burned." Panhandle Herald, Guymon, 15 April 1935.
"Now, as we recall that day, we are glad that we were eye-witnesses to perhaps the most awe-inspiring and majestic upheaval of Nature that ever occurred in this section of the United States." Pauline Winkler Grey, The Black Sunday of April 14, 1935. Kansas Historical Society.
"The wind was travelling at a speed of sixty miles an hour; when it struck, visibility was reduced to zero for a period of twenty minutes, after which time visibility was limited to ten feet or less, lasting for forty-five minutes, then visibility increased to fifty feet or more at sporadic intervals and thereafter gradually increasing until normal nightfall." U. S. Government Weather Bureau at Dodge City KS. From The Black Sunday of April 14, 1935. Kansas Historical Society.
"It was as though the sky was divided into two opposite worlds. On the south there was blue sky, golden sunlight and tranquility; on the north, there was a menacing curtain of boiling black dust that appeared to reach a thousand or more feet into the air. It had the appearance of a mammoth waterfall in reverse – color as well as form. The apex of the cloud was plumed and curling, seething and tumbling over itself from north to south and whipping trash, papers, sticks, and cardboard cartons before it. Even the birds were helpless in the turbulent onslaught and dipped and dived without benefit of wings as the wind propelled them. As the wall of dust and sand struck our house the sun was instantly blotted out completely. Gravel particles clattered against the windows and pounded down on the roof. The floor shook with the impact of the wind, and the rafters creaked threateningly. We stood in our living room in pitch blackness. We were stunned. Never had we been in such all-enveloping blackness before, such impenetrable gloom." Pauline Winkler Grey, The Black Sunday of April 14, 1935. Kansas Historical Society.
"Tommy Peckham lost his way in the storm and stopped to knock on a door. 'Mr. (Loefbourrow),' he said, 'This is Tommy Peckham and I'm lost. May I come in?' He was at home and didn't know it. Forgan Advocate, 18 April 1935.
"Residents of the southwestern dust bowl marked up another black duster today and wondered how long it would be before another one came along." Associated Press, Lubbock Evening Journal, 15 April 1935. (Probably written by Robert Geiger; may be the first appearance of "dust bowl.")
Liberal KS | 4:00 PM (Liberal News; from NE) |
Alva (10 S) | 4:00 PM ("about;" Texhoma Times) |
Beaver | 4:00 PM ("about;" Forgan Advocate, 18 April 1935; from N) |
Harper Co. OK | 4:00-4:30 PM (Harper County Journal; north wind) |
Laverne | 4:20 PM (Leader Tribune, Laverne, 18 April 1935) |
Hooker | 4:30 PM (observer) |
Woodward | 4:30 PM (Daily Oklahoman) |
Medford | 4:50 PM (Grant County Journal; from NW) |
Shattuck | 5:00 PM (Northwest Oklahoman) |
Arnett | 5:00 PM (observer) |
Vici | 5:00 PM (Vici Beacon, 18 April 1935; from N) |
Perryton TX | 5:00 PM (Ochiltree County Herald; from N) |
Canadian TX | 5:00-6:00 PM |
Boise City | 5:15 PM (Boise City News, 18 Apr 1935), 5:35 PM, (Ochiltree County Herald) |
Spearman | 5:15 PM (observer; from NE) |
Dalhart | 5:15 PM (Ochiltree County Herald) (5:55 PM or 85 min. before Amarillo - Amarillo Daily News) |
Kenton | 5:20 PM (Boise City News, 18 Apr 1935) |
Waukomis | 5:30 PM (observer) |
Stratford TX | 5:40 PM (observer) |
Hammon | 5:45 PM (Daily Oklahoman; from NW) |
Texhoma | 5:45 PM (Texhoma Times, 18 April 1935; from NE) |
Camargo | 6:00 PM (observer) |
Hennessey | 6:00 PM (observer; from NW) |
Kingfisher | 6:00 PM (observer) |
Borger TX | 6:15 PM (Ochiltree County Herald) |
Stinnett TX | 6:35 PM (45 min. before Amarillo; Amarillo Daily News) |
Erick | 7:00 PM (observer) |
Oklahoma City | 7:15 PM (Daily Oklahoman) |
Amarillo | 7:20 PM (Ochiltree County Herald; Amarillo Daily News; Northwest Oklahoman |
Wichita Falls | 9:45 PM (Amarillo Daily News) |