Six people were killed Friday when a dust storm with major wind gusts caused a wreck involving 21 vehicles on Interstate 90 in Montana.
According to Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson, officials think the weather caused the incident, noting, “It appears as though there was heavy winds, causing a dust storm with zero visibility,” the Associated Press (AP) reported Saturday.
The agency did not have an immediate tally of injuries, but Nelson explained more ambulances were dispatched from Billings to assist.
In a social media post on Saturday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote, “My prayers are with everyone affected by the tragic events during the dust storm in Big Horn County today,” noting authorities were investigating:
“We will release more information as it becomes available and is appropriate out of respect of the lives lost and their loved ones,” Knudsen concluded.
Video footage showed numerous vehicles backed up on the interstate, and one truck appeared to have veered off into the median:
In addition, photos showed the line of vehicles and what seemed to be a torn up travel trailer:
The dust storm began several hours before when storms appeared in the central southern part of the state that afternoon, then moved eastward, Nick Vertz, a National Weather Service meteorologist, explained.
The AP report continued:
Those storms prompted a severe thunderstorm watch that covered Hardin and other parts of Montana from mid-afternoon until 9 p.m. Friday. Meteorologists forecasted the potential for isolated hail the size of a quarter, scattered wind gusts up to 75 mph (121 kph) and frequent lightning.
A so-called “outflow” — or a surge of wind that’s produced by storms but can travel faster than them — flew east/southeast about 30 miles (48 kilometers) ahead of the storms, Vertz said.
The wind eventually picked up dust and reduced visibility to under 1/4 of a mile.
A driver who witnessed the accident told KTVQ News, “It was pretty gut-wrenching to see.”
“It was like a snowstorm, but dust. It was very low visibility or it was like fog. It reminded me of really dense fog,” Ariel Dehart recalled.