Monstrous dust storm barrels down on to our desert capital

ALICE Springs has been hit by a monstrous dust storm and Mayor Damien Ryan caught this image of the great wall of red barrelling down on our desert capital

Alice Springs mayor Damien Ryan shared this image of a dust storm over Alice Springs' Kilgariff estate. Picture: Damien Ryan

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ALICE Springs was hit by a monstrous dust storm on Saturday, and Mayor Damien Ryan caught this image of the great wall of red rolling in on the seasonal south-easterly winds.

Mr Ryan said the storm was reflective of the incredibly dry conditions.

“It was pretty amazing the other afternoon. Over the last week, we’ve had a fair bit of dust in the air. But this was one of those old fashioned long-term dry storms with the red clouds rolling in,” he said.

“I happened to be out at Kilgariff looking after my daughter’s chooks and trees, and then I looked up and it rolled in so quickly.

“I couldn’t resist taking a photo.”

Mr Ryan said it proved to be an incredible sight for Alice Springs newcomers who had not seen an event like it.

“People who’ve lived here before knew what to expect but it was stunning to someone who’d never seen one,” he said.

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“I was surprised about comments on my Facebook page from people who’d never seen it before.

“It all just means that we’re another day closer to our next rain.”