CONCORD, N.H. — Residents of New England were taken by surprise when they noticed a peculiar coating on their vehicles that wasn’t the typical spring pollen. It was actually dust, part of a meteorological event known as “dirty rain,” that had traveled quite a distance across the United States.
Instead of the traditional April showers that herald the arrival of May flowers, the region recently experienced rain mixed with dirt. Christian Bridges, a meteorologist serving with WGME-TV located in Portland, Maine, initially shared the confusion of many until he inspected satellite data for more information.
“Satellite images clearly showed the dust was lifted from New Mexico on Thursday by the same storm system,” Bridges explained. “This system then carried the dust to the far northern parts of the country before finally depositing it in New England.”
According to Bridges, strong winds propelled the dust to an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), which is beneath the height of rain clouds. The rain then gathered the dust as it began to fall, bringing the debris down to the ground. Bridges described it as intriguing, noting that the dust traversed 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) to reach the area.
This phenomenon was not exclusive to New England. Other parts of the country, such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and the region around the northern Great Lakes, experienced similar occurrences of “dirty rain” or “mud rain” before the system moved east to Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Bridges noted that while this type of rain is out of the ordinary, it is not entirely without precedent. He compared it to the way smoke from wildfires in the Western United States occasionally makes its way across the country to the east.