Morpeth (Berry Park), NSW
23 October 2002

The photos below were taken around midday looking west. On the 23rd of October 2002, a dust storm travelled across the eastern third of Australia on a 1500km front. This dust storm reduced visibility to only a kilometre by about 2pm in the Lower Hunter. The dust storm cleared by late afternoon across the Hunter and the front continued to march across the Tasman sea, hitting New Zealand the next day.

Dust storms do occur in the Hunter, but only once every 3 to 8 years on average. Dust storms in the Hunter often occur during droughts and very rarely form in the Hunter. Majority of the dust storms that hit the Hunter originate from the central parts of the continent.

A typical 'outback' dust storm as pictured below can be easily identified by the orange and eerie tinge caused by the red outback dust.

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