SALT LAKE CITY — On Sunday, many parts of Utah experienced severe thunderstorms with high winds.
With these high winds, a lot of dust can get kicked up into the air.
According to University of Utah Professor Derek Mallia, dust can come from several sources in the state.
“I would actually argue that with the dust event that we're seeing today especially, a lot of the dust is probably coming within the valley from the various kind of quarries that we have and mining operations that we have throughout the valley,” Mallia said.
He said the Great Salt Lake is usually another contributing factor.
Due to the increase in dust, air quality is impacted.
WATCH: See how Great Salt Lake's dust threatens air quality in Utah cities
After Sunday’s storms especially, Mallia said PM10, a smaller dust particle, is on the rise.
“We are seeing PM10 actually elevating,” he said. “Because the PM10 is so small, it can actually penetrate pretty deep into your lungs, and so it can cause or aggravate any cardiovascular or respiratory issues, and so because of that, it does reduce the air quality.”
FOX 13 News then asked the question of how long these particles will remain in the air after severe thunderstorms occur.
“Because these particles with dust are usually a little bit bigger than other particles that we see with inversion to wildfire smoke, these particles will settle out of the atmosphere a bit quicker. So I would think that hopefully, by tomorrow,” Mallia said.
He said while this is usually typical for Utah, it’s best to treat the dust like wildfire smoke and avoid going outside for longer periods of time.
“If you do have to go outdoors, it's one of those things where maybe try not to do kind of vigorous exercises or anything like that outside. Because, of course, when you're doing exercising and stuff, you're breathing in more air,” Mallia said.
