Dust Storm In The Dust Bowl

Dust storms in the Dust Bowl area wreaked havoc on the Great Plains and Southwestern United States and caused the death of many. Once upon a time (The 1930’s to be exact), there was a bright young fellow named Bob. His family consisted of six people: Bob, June (his sister), Billy (his one year-old brother who was very sick), his older brother (Eric), Bob’s dad, and Bob’s mom. They lived in a rural area of Oklahoma. In the “Dirty Thirties,” their lives changed drastically. It was like they were put into an enclosed cave and they were stuck in there with nobody to help them. They were a wealthy family, but when the Dust Bowl came, and it terrorized their land, they were never able to dig themselves out of the hole that the Dust Bowl caused. Billy died from a dust-inflicted illness, Eric became a hobo, and

One of those farmland problems was “over managing” of the farmland and fields. This was a major cause of the Dust Bowl because it is what loosened up the soil. For example, farmers over-plowed the fields and as a result, pulled up the native grasses that had previously held the soil in place. They exchanged planting the prairie grass for instead attempting to harvest wheat, which they were unable to do because of external/natural factors. Turning to some effects of the farmland, the land was completely smothered in dust. This was not just a sprinkle of dust that you get when you cut some wood, this is total blanketing or carpeting of the whole area. The wood houses built back in the old days were always covered in dirt and sand. The dust crawled and wormed its way in every crack and crevice. The wind blew everywhere constantly, displacing the hearty topsoil that was so valuable for farming. It snatched up seeds and just pitched them away. These factors made it nearly impossible to farm. Agriculture in the “Dirty Thirties” was depressing, but some revolting illnesses actually took