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Dust storms were one of the primary causes of the Dust Bowl, an environmental catastrophe that took place during the 1930s in the central United States, including regions of the Great Plains. The main factors that contributed to the dust storms, and thus the Dust Bowl, were a combination of severe drought and decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops, or other soil conservation techniques.
During the period leading up to the Dust Bowl, farmers used deep plowing techniques to turn the native grasses under, which had evolved to withstand the local conditions, including periods of low precipitation. These grasses were replaced with wheat and other cash crops. When the drought hit, the lack of the native grasses meant there was nothing to hold the soil down. Additionally, the removal of the grasses caused the structure and fertility of the soil to deteriorate, making it even more susceptible to being blown away by the wind.
As the drought persisted, the soil dried out even more, and with no vegetation to anchor it, the soil turned to dust. Winds swept up the loose topsoil, creating massive dust storms, colloquially known as "black blizzards," that could blacken the sky and even reached as far as the East Coast of the United States. These dust storms caused massive ecological and agricultural damage, leading to the name “Dust Bowl” for the affected regions.