HOUSTON — Rain, wind, hail, and ... dirt? Yes, Houston truly got it all from this latest round of severe storms. So where did the dirt come from and why was there so much of it?
The dirt and pollen were streamlined from the Hill Country where the powerful front became organized linearly. When this happens, a squall line develops and acts as a bulldozer of powerful wind for the areas in its path. As it came barreling through Southeast Texas, it brought along dirt and damaging winds.
That wind recorded a gust at 62 mph for Brookside Village that knocked down a large tree near the intersection of Mykawa Road and Bellfort Avenue.
Impressive gusts also stretched down to Galveston which recorded 61 mph wind at the Crab Lake Weatherflow Site in High Island.
Another side effect of severe storms that left our cars with filth comes with downbursts. When thunderstorms build, they have strong updrafts -- the strong pull of air from the surface that's used to build the tall columns of electrified clouds. And when the storm rains itself out, what goes up must come down. When the storms collapse, they drop down more rain and some of the dirt they initially scooped up.
So, many motorists headed to the nearest car wash on Tuesday morning -- from gas station automated drive-throughs to Mister Carwash large-scale operations to family-owned detailing shops like Best Hand Car Wash.
Drivers wanted a clean slate.
"Where did all this dust come from?" Sandra Ellis said.
"I was actually shocked," Walter Torres said.