Weather Flashback

Summary

The obscured (blue) sky in this scene is from a plume of red-orange dirt (I usually refer to this type of dirt color as simply "red.") On this date, a strong cyclone generated strong southwest winds near the surface across the region. Those winds lofted numerous red-orange dirt in Chihuahua, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. More localized, deep vertical mixing behind a dryline and ahead of the cyclone's cold front also contributed to the development of plumes; effectively creating an envelope of waves filled with red-orange dust that afternoon.