An unprecedented dust storm, brought on by 60-70 mph gusts of wind, hit the Chicago area on Friday, turning night into day and causing near-zero visibility. The dust storm originated near Bloomington, Illinois, and advanced northeastward into the Chicago metropolitan area during the afternoon and evening hours. The city issued its first-ever dust warning, as an emergency alert was sent to residents’ mobile phones, saying, ‘Be ready for sudden drop to zero visibility. Pull aside, stay alive! People were urged to stay indoors unless ‘absolutely necessary.’
Dr. Tom Gill, a professor at the University of Texas—El Paso and one of the world’s foremost experts on dust, noted the unusual event, suggesting that intense dust storms are becoming more frequent.
“Just when you thought you were safe from the dust… a haboob-like structure has formed on the incoming cold front, and El Paso is once again in blowing dust,” he tweeted. “This is at least the 26th time this year we’ve had a dust event: the long-term annual average (yes, annual) is 22. “
‘Haboob’ is an Arabic word describing an intense dust storm carried by the wind of a weather front or thunderstorm. This duststorm is often characterized by a “wall of dust” along the leading edge of the haboob that can be visually stunning.
The scene was strongly reminiscent of the ninth plague that struck Egypt, showing the power of God and forcing them to release the Jews from bondage.
Then Hashem said to Moshe, “Hold out your arm toward the sky that there may be darkness upon the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be touched.” Exodus 10:21
A dust storm, while amorphous, seems consistent with this reference to “a darkness that can be touched.” The medieval commentator Nachmanides describes the darkness as a fog-like condition that extinguished all flames. Ibn Ezra said it was so dark that the Egyptians could not even keep track of the passing days.
The Midrash cites Rabbi Nechemia, who described the darkness as emanating not from the sun but from below, i.e., Gehenom (Hell). Rabi Nechemia cites the Book of Job as a source:
“A land of thick darkness, as darkness itself, a land of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness” (Job 10:22)
Also on Friday, Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Ohio residents were told to brace for intense storms that included baseball-sized hail. At the same time, Texas was hit with a heat advisory for San Antonio and Austin as temperatures reached 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The East Coast, from Virginia to Florida experienced heats in the 90s.
The mingling of intense heat with icy hail is precisely how the plague of hail appeared in Egypt. Fire intermingling with icy hail is reminiscent of the Biblical seventh plague that appeared with its elemental opposite: fire.
So Moshe held out his rod toward the sky, and Hashem sent thunder and hail, and fire streamed down to the ground, as Hashem rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. So Moshe held out his rod toward the sky, and Hashem sent thunder and hail, and fire streamed down to the ground, as Hashem rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. Exodus 9:22-23
The Israel Bible explains this unnatural phenomenon:
“The hail of the plague is unlike anything we have ever experienced, let alone the Egyptians, who live in a warm climate. The Torah tells us the hail combines ice with fire, a combination which does not typically exist in nature. As the Israel Bible relates, the miraculous combination shows us that anything can exist in harmony to do God’s bidding.”
Jewish sources predict that all of the plagues will reappear in the final Redemption, but in even more powerful forms. Micah prophesied this reload of the Egyptian plagues.
I will show him wondrous deeds, as in the days when You sallied forth from the land of Egypt. Micah 7:15
It is written in Midrash Tanchuma, homiletic teachings collected around the fifth century, that “just as God struck the Egyptians with 10 plagues, so too He will strike the enemies of the Jewish people at the time of the Redemption.”
This concept was explained by Rabbi Bahya ben Asher, a 13th-century Spanish commentator, who wrote, “In Egypt, God used only part of His strength. When the final redemption comes, God will show much, much more of His power.”
Also on Friday, at least seven people were killed in Missouri due to tornadoes and severe storms that caused extensive damage, leaving over 100,000 St Louis residents without power. Emergency services ran building searches for anyone trapped under rubble.
On Friday night, a tornado passed through southeast Kentucky, killing at least 14 people and severely injuring several others. In Virginia, at least two people were killed on Friday night after a storm toppled trees, leading to two separate crashes, Fox Weather reported. In Missouri, at least seven people have been confirmed dead while authorities continue to search for any survivors trapped inside buildings following severe weather.
