Six people have died after a dust storm fueled by wind gusts exceeding 60 mph caused a crowded Friday evening on Interstate 90 in Montana, authorities said.
Twenty-one vehicles crashed and the Montana Highway Patrol Sergeant. Jay Nelson said authorities believe time was of the essence.
“It looks like there are strong winds, causing a dust storm with zero visibility,” he said.
Although the road patrol did not have an immediate count of the number of injured, Nelson said additional ambulances had to be called from Billings to help.
Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Twitter: “I am deeply saddened by the news of a mass casualty accident near Hardin. Please join me in praying to lift the victims and their loved ones. We are grateful to our first responsible for the service. “
The incident happened 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Hardin. A video from The Billings Gazette showed hundreds of tractors, motorhomes and cars propped up for miles along the two eastbound lanes of the interstate.
The roots of the dust storm go back several hours, when the storms appeared in central southern Montana between 1 and 2 p.m. and slowly began to move east, according to meteorologist Nick Vertz of the Billings National Meteorological Service.
These storms caused severe storm surveillance covering Hardin and other parts of Montana from mid-afternoon until 9pm on Friday night. Meteorologists predicted the possibility of isolated hail the size of a quarter, scattered gusts of wind up to 75 mph (121 km / h) and frequent lightning.
Vertz said the so-called “exit” – or a wind wave produced by storms but which can travel faster than them – flew east / southeast about 30 miles (48 kilometers) ahead. the storms.
A gust of 40 mph (64 km / h) was recorded at the nearest Big Horn County airport at 4:15 p.m. The crash was reported to the road patrol at 4:28 p.m.
At the next reading of the airport weather station at 16:35, the gusts had increased to 100 km / h. Another reading 20 minutes later recorded a gust of 64 mph (103 km / h).
The wind picked up dust easily, a product of recent 90s and three-digit temperatures over the past week, and reduced visibility to less than 1/4 mile (0.4 kilometers).
“If they looked at the sky while they were at Hardin, they probably wouldn’t see much of what would be thought of for a storm cloud, maybe not even anything,” Vertz said. “It was just a wave of wind that came out of nowhere.”
When first responders try to clean up the wreckage, the meteorologist said they can expect to be safe from additional winds and storm activity.
“It should be a relatively clear and quiet night for them,” he said.