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About five million tonnes of soil swept across southeast Queensland and NSW yesterday. The storm has been blamed for an increase in asthma attacks, but cleaning and car wash companies are expecting a record day today.
Measured at seven times that of a "severe" dust storm, scientists think there is enough sediment still airborne for it to travel more than 3000km to north Queensland in one to two days. Dust concentrations in Sydney were 10 to 20 times recommended air quality while in Brisbane readings on dust levels and visibility were the worst since the major storm of 2002.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Brett Harrison said another surface trough was expected to move through from the west on Saturday with fresh to strong and gusty south-westerly winds behind it. "Normally they'd be ideal conditions for dust but because of how much topsoil has been removed from this event, it may not be that significant,'' Mr Harrison said.
Measured at seven times that of a "severe" dust storm, scientists think there is enough sediment still airborne for it to travel more than 3000km to north Queensland in one to two days. Dust concentrations in Sydney were 10 to 20 times recommended air quality while in Brisbane readings on dust levels and visibility were the worst since the major storm of 2002.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Brett Harrison said another surface trough was expected to move through from the west on Saturday with fresh to strong and gusty south-westerly winds behind it. "Normally they'd be ideal conditions for dust but because of how much topsoil has been removed from this event, it may not be that significant,'' Mr Harrison said.
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