weather

Muddy rain: What effect dust storms in the Southwest have on the DC area

The increased dust people may see on their vehicles is not known to have significant impact to the air quality

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The damaging dust storms that swept through parts of the central and southwest U.S are moving to the east coast. Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper explains why you may see dirt and dust on your car after a night’s rain.

Spring is here and allergy season is in full bloom. 

However, what you'll likely see on your car Friday morning isn’t pollen. It's actually dust.

What’s happening?

The damaging high winds, tornadoes and dust storms that swept through parts of the central and southwest U.S. earlier this month are moving to the East Coast.

Residents in Chicago also experienced dirty rain with some posting photos of their vehicles covered in mud spots.  

Why is this happening?

As dust mixes in with strong storms, it causes the storm to rain dust leading to muddy or dirty rain.

The dirtier and dustier air is primarily in central and Northern Virginia.

What should you do?

As the windshield wipers are going tonight, don’t be surprised if the rain looks a little dirty or muddy.

The dust also is not known to cause major issues to the air quality. The increased tree pollen because of the spring season is still the main culprit of bad allergies.

The good news is the rain will rinse the dust and pollen out of the air. The cooler temperatures in the coming days will also give people suffering with allergies a break.

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