Originally published in the El Paso Times April 19, 2015
By Tom Gill, Ph.D.
It’s April in El Paso and to residents of the borderland that means two things: filing federal income tax returns and braving clouds of dust and sand.
El Paso arguably receives more dusty weather than any other city in the U.S., and gritty desert storms peak this time of year; blowing dust was observed at El Paso International Airport’s weather station within a week of April 15 in 19 of the past 20 years.
It was Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, not El Paso, that were hit by a massive dust storm last week, for a change.
Our Chihuahuan Desert has been fortunate to be less dusty than usual so far this spring 2015, primarily because breezes have been unusually light by our standards, though strong winds will certainly return.
Most of the time, wind-borne dust and sand seems just a nuisance, but it can present real risks to our health and safety.
Strong winds and reduced visibility especially require caution on the road. Dozens of crashes have happened on highways in our region during dust storms in recent years.
Most take place in the spring and early summer, particularly along I-10 from El Paso to Las Cruces and west toward the Arizona line.
Last May, seven people were killed in a multi-vehicle pileup near Lordsburg, N.M., when drivers were apparently blinded by a haboob — an intense, tsunami-like “wall of dirt” rolling over the land, swept out by downdrafts from a thunderstorm.
These storms can form quickly, even on days that seem generally calm.
If at all possible, don’t drive directly into such a dense dust cloud. If one is coming, it may be best to wait for it to pass from a safe location.
If you are caught on the road in thick dust, slow down (watching for other traffic), pull completely off the road, turn off all lights (so other vehicles won’t follow yours, thinking they are in a travel lane), and stay inside the vehicle.
The Arizona Department of Transportation reminds motorists to “pull aside, stay alive” for safety in dust season; we all should remember that slogan.
While dust can’t always be avoided in the borderland, it’s best to stay away from overexposure to it if possible.
Specks of dust are classified by air quality managers as a form of “particulate matter,” the tiniest of which can be breathed deeply into the respiratory tract.
Some of the highest recorded PM levels in the U.S. have been measured in El Paso dust storms and we know that inhaling dust has consequences.
An EPA-funded study by UTEP researchers found that very dusty days increased the odds of El Pasoans being hospitalized for asthma and acute bronchitis. Though these dust impacts were more frequent with children, everyone’s risk of respiratory problems appears to be higher after inhaling windblown dust.
Dust storms can also carry the spores that cause valley fever and other fungal diseases.
Since human lungs are not fully developed until adolescence, children’s lungs are most vulnerable to damage. Even though fine particulate matter will penetrate inside buildings and schools, caregivers might be well advised to restrict outdoor playtime on dusty days, especially in neighborhoods downwind of open fields, construction sites, and bare desert ground.
This time of year in El Paso, two things may seem inevitable — dust and taxes — but planning for both will make us more secure.