Christopher Walljasper and P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO (Reuters). During Thursday’s hurricane-force winds, which swept across the U.S. Midwest, a wall of dust erupted across major cities and small towns. It caused widespread damage to property and killed at least two.

According to soil specialists and meteorologists, straight-line winds can reach speeds of 105 miles an hour (169 kmph), from Kansas to Wisconsin. They push waves of topsoil over the horizon, plunging villages into darkness and pushing farmland to the surface at speeds up to 105 mph.

Farmers said that the wall of dust reminded them of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Winds blew storage buildings on to tractors, flipping cars onto highways and creating dust clouds.

According to the National Weather Service, one person died from a falling tree in Sioux Falls (South Dakota). According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a second victim was killed when a grain bin crashed onto a vehicle in Minnesota.

“The damage is extensive, but it could have been a lot worse,” said Todd Heitkamp, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He stated that Nebraska, South Dakota Iowa, Minnesota and Minnesota were the hardest hit.

Farmers said that a layer of dirt formed on the blades of wind turbines. It also filled any drainage ditches.

Joanna Pope from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, stated that dry conditions in the Great Plains, Midwest and Midwest combined with conventional farm practices such as soil tillage set the scene for the dust storm.

She stated that cover crops are the best way to protect against this kind of stuff.

Exposed soil gets very dry quickly, and high winds blow it away. This is a disaster for people’s livelihoods. It’s terrible.”

Storms could make it more difficult for farmers to plant, due to high input costs and the pressure to raise production amid record-high food and water prices.

High winds in Nebraska have damaged irrigation systems that are used to provide water for newly planted crops. Kevin Fulton, a farmer said that it may take weeks for the expensive systems to be repaired.

Randy Loomis from Iowa was growing corn when the tornado struck. Randy lost control of his grain bin, and it was tossed across Randy’s yard.

After dropping his dinner off, his wife and daughter abandoned their cars to shelter in the nearby ditch against the wind, he explained.

Loomis (62) said that the big dust cloud measured three football field width. It was black. It had taken up all the black dirt.”