The city of Mildura was blanketed in dust on Tuesday afternoon as a cold front moved across the Victoria.
The storm, propelled by strong winds of up to 90 km/h, rolled over Mildura about 5pm, momentarily plunging the city into darkness and reducing visibility. Once passed, clear skies returned.
Local man Josh Barilla said the storm came in quickly.
“It was perfect conditions outside, then you could see a big dust wave coming through. Within a few seconds it went pitch black,” he told 7 News.
Mildura councillor Glenn Milne said he had seen a small plane in the clouds.
“I’m just hoping that little plane has landed somewhere or they’re in front of it going for their lives, because there’s no way known you could land in this sort of light,” he told 9 News Melbourne.
Weather bureau senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said it was uncommon to have a dust storm in May.
“Normally you would see it in the drier parts of the year, in summer,” he told the Guardian. “It has been a very dry start to the year.”
