'It looked like it was snowing': Search on for source of dust that coated parts of region

Some Washington County residents along with others in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and other parts of Maryland got a surprise Thursday night when a fine white dust fell from the sky, coating cars and outdoor furniture.

Comments spread across social media, including some Hagerstown area residents reporting seeing unusual-colored hues around vehicle headlights as the material fell.

Sean Flaherty, who lives on McKee Avenue in Hagerstown's North End, said the dust was falling at his house about 10 p.m.

"I checked my security camera and it looked like it was snowing outside," said Flaherty. He provided The Herald-Mail with a video clip which shows particles flashing by in the light from his house.

Emergency officials, weather forecasters and environmental authorities on Friday were trying to determine what the dust was. Meanwhile, residents on social media theorized everything from pollen to chemicals from a train derailment in Ohio.

What's being done to analyze the dust?

Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson said Friday that the agency was aware of the situation and believes that it's likely dust that was carried aloft from Texas and New Mexico. It settled to the surface in Maryland on Thursday night in connection with a weather front passing through, he said.

Meterologists with the National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va., on Friday weren't saying anything definite.

They were not sure what the dust was, and meteorologist Chris Strong said his office was in contact with its headquarters to to determine if there is another agency that might be able to track the material and "get a handle" on its origin.

"I guess it's uncertain at this point," Strong said.

He said it's possible the dust could have come from the West.

The Texas Tribune on Friday said state residents in the Lubbock area are used to wind and dust. But an ongoing drought and recent tropical-storm level winds up to 69 mph were creating "epic dust storms" there, the news organization said in an online story.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said on its website Friday that it's working with state and local agencies to investigate "large amounts of dust" in the Eastern Panhandle.

The agency said it sent inspectors to gather samples and test them to determine if it could be dust from the West.

"No obvious sources have been identified at this time," the agency said. It said no shelter in place advisories had been issued.

Where was the dust reported?

Strong said his office received a lot of calls about the dust, mainly from Eastern West Virginia and into Western Maryland, although he said it appears some also came from the Westminster, Md., area.

The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., also part of the USA TODAY Network like The Herald-Mail, said residents on the Eastern Shore also reported finding the dust.

Tom Brown, director of emergency management for Washington County, said the county 911 center got a handful of calls about the dust Thursday night. Officials there then contacted Brown. He said it appears a lot of the dust dropped in the southern part of the county.

Brown said Friday afternoon that he had not received any information from the state. He dug around himself and talked to others who believe it might have been the dust from the West.

The theory is that the dust was being carried by warm southerly winds that pushed temperatures into the 70s in the Hagerstown area Thursday, Brown said.

Could it have been from the East Palestine, Ohio train wreck?

The wind flow likely would not have carried any air from the East Palestine, Ohio, area, where a train crash on Feb. 3 derailed dozens of cars and released toxic chemicals, Brown said. Some local residents were wondering if the dust could have been toxic substances from the crash.

More:Ohio officials say East Palestine's water is safe. But where's the full data?

Brown emphasized that he is no authority on the dust, and added he knows of no testing being done on it.

"I haven't seen the dust. I haven't seen any data to determine what it is," he said. "We're still monitoring it."

Apperson, with the state Environment Department, said particulate matter of small size poses the greatest health risk in situations such as the derailment.

"Smaller particles were not elevated during the event," Apperson said in an email, and he added that air monitoring Friday by MDE "showed good air quality."

MDE urges Marylanders to follow the department’s air quality forecasts, Apperson said. They are available online through AirNow, Clean Air Partners, the National Weather Service and on MDE’s website.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland environmental officials: Dust may be from Texas