'The whole town went pitch black': Mildura goes dark as dust storm hits
A dust storm that has rolled across Victoria's north-west has shrouded Mildura in thick red dust, plunging the town into darkness in a matter of minutes.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the dust storm hit Mildura airport about 5pm, as winds reached 57 km/h.
Mildura resident and social worker Brando Smith, 28, said the sky went from blue to grey to orange and then to pitch black within 15 minutes.
"We heard it was coming at about 4.55pm and by the time we came out we could see the massive orange cloud coming across," she said.
"Then the whole town went pitch black. All the cars started going really slowly when the orange came across. Then the street lights came on and we could only see headlights so everyone was driving at snail's pace."
She said just before 6pm that the sky was lighter but there was still dust around.
"We've come out the other side and it's very light again but the sky is dusty and there is mud on everything. It's a combination of mud and dust," she said.
She said it was one of the worst dust storms she had ever seen in Mildura, only similar in scale to one back in 2006.
A CFA spokeswoman said they had received 12 callouts for false alarms going off in buildings in Mildura from about 5pm onwards.
The Sunraysia Daily reports Mildura Airport has grounded all planes until 8.30pm and the terminal has been closed after dust entered the building.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was issued by the bureau just before 5pm for the Mallee district.
A cold front is set to cross western Victoria on Tuesday night and winds are expected to reach up to 90 km/h in places such as Mildura, Ouyen, Walpeup, Robinvale and Birchip.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Christie Johnson said strong winds had whipped up dust.
"North-west Victoria and South Australia have been very dry and we had a very dry start to the year and even though there was a little bit of rain recently, obviously it was not enough to put a lid on that dust being whipped up," she said.
"It's common in summer, less common at this time of year, but with a dry start it can happen."
She said the intense dark period in Mildura was due to the amount of dust whipped up by the winds.
"There was a lot of dust in the air, it was basically like fog."
Those in the area have posted impressive pictures of the dust storm as it approached the area and eventually moved over Mildura.
The local Sunraysia Daily paper tweeted a video of footage from locals, saying the storm "sent the town dark within minutes".