Dust storms raged across New Mexico on Tuesday, snarling highway traffic as the National Weather Service pushed an emergency alert to cellphones that warned of zero-visibility conditions and adverse health consequences for infants and the elderly.
Dry, dusty weather reduced visibility to almost zero in some instances amid gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) along the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor and high plains communities in Torrance County, including towns along Interstate 40.
Blinding dust prompted New Mexico’s transportation department to close a 130-mile stretch of Interstate 10, from the Arizona state line to the outskirts of Las Cruces, along with state highways near Deming.
High winds also led to road closures in the state's oil-producing region at near Roswell and Carlsbad.
“Motorists should not drive into a dust storm. Pull aside and stay alive,” the National Weather Service said in a dust storm warning.
Authorities also warned of extreme conditions in the event of wildfire, in the aftermath of a grasslands fire that prompted evacuations Friday on the outskirts of Wagon Mound.
Beyond New Mexico, dust storms last week resulted in a pileup in western Kansas on Interstate 70 involving dozens of cars and trucks that left eight people dead.
