November 1, 2011 7:11 PM

Storms slamming Southwest evoke Dust Bowl
ByAnna Werner

(CBS News) Top scientists are warning that recent extreme weather patterns could continue well into the future. A draft report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press says climate change will mean more floods, more heat waves and more droughts.

And in bone-dry Texas, that future is now, as CBS News correspondent Anna Werner reports on the dust storms that are swirling in the Lone Star State.

Lubbock, Texas hadn't seen anything like it in decades. The dust storm on October 17 stretched more than a mile high, with wind gusts of 75 mph -- hurricane-force.

Kevin Watt recorded it on his iPhone. "It came in like a cloud," he said, "but you realize, 'Hey that's dirt.'"

"It looks a little scary on the video," Werner commented.

Video: Dust storm crashes a wedding
Video: Dust storm causes havoc in Texas
Dust storm roils through Texas South Plains

"It was a little scary," said Watt. "It was big, it came in fast. It was just pelting my skin and getting in my eyes. It's like getting sandblasted."

The winds tore siding off buildings and pushed a jet into a fence. Damaging storms like this are happening more often in the Southwest. Arizona has had eight major storms so far this year; typically there are only two or three.

A storm near Phoenix caused a fatal accident. And in Florence, Arizona, it was an unwelcome wedding guest -- a video shows dust nearly obscuring the view of the bride and groom.

Dust storms erupt when advancing thunderstorms or strong cold fronts push high winds across loose soil.

"The dust storms are really coming about quite simply," said Richard Seager, an expert on climate," because this is one of the most severe droughts that Texas and the Southern Plains have experienced in this century."

This drought was triggered by the weather pattern known as "La Nina." Cooler than normal water in the Pacific alters the jet stream, trapping dry air over the Southwest. The lack of rain has already caused $9 billion in losses.

"When the wind comes through, there's just nothing you can do to stop that," said farmer Brad Heffington, who snapped storm pictures. He raises cotton near Lubbock when he can.

"Normally weeds will grow even when it's dry," he said, "but the weeds aren't even growing this year. I've never seen that

Heffington planted 6,000 acres of cotton seeds. But in these dry conditions, two-thirds of them failed to come up.

The dryness reminds some here of the Dust Bowl of the 1930's, when the Great Plains were plowed under and the drought created the perfect conditions for what were called "black blizzards." Scientists do not expect a similar catastrophe this time.

"We're going to pray for rain and hope that it comes," said Watt.

But the forecast for the South Plains predicts a drier than normal winter that will extend the drought well into spring.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-2 ... dust-bowl/