Black Sunday Dust Storm Hits Stratford, Texas (1935)
In this photo, a massive dust storm envelopes Stratford, Texas, part of the Black Sunday storms in April of 1935. The storms swept across northern Texas and the Oklahoma panhandle. It enveloped them in whirling clouds of dust so thick people couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces. The Black Sunday dust storms were by far the worst the region had experienced, although they had been hit by several other dust storms, the result of drought and the agricultural practices of the time. The sunny, bright day suddenly plunged into darkness. Mountains of dust and sand blasted across the land at speeds of up to forty miles per hour (roughly 64 kph) to 60 miles per hour (roughly 97 kph). Black Sunday was severe enough that the federal government finally admitted dust storms were more than just a nuisance. It sparked the creation of the Soil Conservation Service.