Mildura dust storm: Sky turns orange in northwest Victoria

A cloud of orange has covered parts of northwest Victoria due to a raised dust event.

Mildura has been hit by a dust storm that turned the sky orange.

Raised dust began reaching Mildura early in the afternoon and by about 4pm was at its thickest.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded a wind gust of 57 km/h at 3.52pm at the Mildura Airport weather station.

The dust storm over the Foodworks supermarket on Deakin Ave, Mildura. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

The sky changed colours as the dust moved through. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

Looking south along Deakin Ave. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

Raised dust events in Mildura typically arise from wind blowing topsoil from nearby farming areas and often occur after periods of low rainfall.

Mildura has not received significant rain in recent months, with just 0.2mm recorded since mid-March and 5mm since the start of February.

Northwest Victoria had seen several major dust storms in recent years while the Millewa region was in drought.

Visibility over longer distances was reduced. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

Motorists navigate the dusty conditions. Picture: Michael DiFabrizio

In May 2019, there was enough dust to turn Mildura into darkness during the day.

The sky turned a shade of bright orange during a November 2019 dust storm.

Mildura temperatures peaked just after 1pm on Monday at 21.1 degrees.

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