Central California was hit by a sandstorm on Monday. Visibility was severely limited. Strong winds snapped trees, created dangerous weather conditions for drivers, and left over ten thousand people without power. Several people were injured in a collision on the highway.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in the town of Hanford issued a warning on Monday storm sand for Fresno County. Power lines and trees were downed throughout the region, and over 12,000 customers were without electricity in the afternoon. Police and fire brigades helped energy companies' teams clear the failures, closing some intersections where broken cables lay to traffic.
In Madera County, a crash occurred on Highway 152, involving approximately 20 vehicles. California Highway Patrol investigators said the cars collided with each other due to poor visibility caused by a sandstorm. Several people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Limited visibility, broken trees. California sandstorm
A huge cloud of dust enveloped Highway 198 near downtown Fresno. It moved quickly through the streets. There was garbage scattered on the sidewalks, blown away by strong winds. The dust storm reduced visibility to several hundred meters, making it difficult to see cars and cyclists on busy downtown streets.
In the city center, residents watched in horror as a tree split into two parts and hit a carport, missing children playing nearby.
– It was loud and scary. The children were very afraid, Karla Sanchez reported in an interview with local media. – [Dzieci – red.] they came running, screaming, and when I looked outside, I saw the tree falling and crushing everything behind me, all the cars, she added.
The services removed broken trees and branches that fell on properties.
Hazardous driving conditions also existed in Tulare and King counties. There was also destruction. In the town of Woodlake, winds knocked down a 40-year-old willow tree in the yard of a house.
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