black blizzard n Also black wind chiefly Plains States Cf black duster n, black roller n, black snow n
A dust storm.
1896 NE State Bd. Ag. Annual Rept. 1895 284, During the “black blizzard” the air for several consecutive days was black with clouds of dust, which accumulated to the depth of five or six inches along the lea [sic] of hedges, fences, and wind breaks. 1934 Eve. Huronite (Huron SD) 10 May 1/5, Dusty houses and shops today told the story of a black blizzard which swept Huron, and most of South Dakota Wednesday and moved on eastward during the night. 1934 Hench Coll. VA, The black blizzards of dust from the vast plains of Canada had spent their force, sweeping to sea on the Eastern seaboard, dropping tons of fertile farm soil en route. 1936 in 1938 AmSp 13.72 CO, OK, [Newspaper citations], ‘Black Blizzard’ Reaches Central Part Of Oklahoma. . . A vast cloud of dust rolled over Oklahoma today paralyzing traffic on highways, ravaging wheat-fields, and blotting out the sun. Ibid, [It was] one of the worst ‘black-blizzard’ duststorms ever to strike this area. 1938 (1952) FWP Guide South Dakota 53, Ushered in by the famous and devastating “black blizzard” of November 1933, the dust storm scourge . . was something new to Dakota prairies. 1952 Peattie Black Hills 86 SD, Despite drought and depression and the “black blizzards” of the thirties, these rugged ranchers hung on. 1956 Daily Jrl. (Commerce TX) 26 Feb 1/1, Black Blizzard Takes Toll. . . The worst dust storm of the season lashed West Texas and neighboring southwestern states Friday night and extended deep into Central and East Texas this morning. 1967 DARE (Qu. B18, Are there any special kinds of wind that you get around here?) Inf CO24, Black wind—dust storm from Kansas. [Inf old] 1967 DARE Tape CO19, And every time you’d get a little wind, why it was just a regular black blizzard, you might call it; KS1, When these black blizzards came . . you couldn’t see where the windows were. . . [FW:] This is just a name for— [Inf:] For this terrific dust storm. 1988 CO Springs Gaz. Telegraph (CO) 7 May sec B 1/3, Winds reaching 73 mph swirled up a dust storm that blew the roof off a building, striking and injuring a Colorado Springs man during what the National Weather Service called a “black blizzard.” 2003 Post–Std. (Syracuse NY) 28 July sec C 8/2, A black blizzard swept through Willcox in southeastern Arizona on Saturday, reducing visibility to zero and causing widespread wind damage. 2006 Egan Worst Hard Time 113 OK (as of 1932), People close to it described a feeling of being in a blizzard–a black blizzard, they called it—with an edge like steel wool.