Burning Man Festival: Storms Turn Dust-Bowl into Muddy Fields

The one-of-a-kind "Burning Man Festival" in Nevada took a sour turn this weekend as heavy rain created a muddy, cakey mess in the northwest part of the state! After many were stranded due to muddy roadways and impassable travel.

The latest update from festival officials on Monday afternoon is that the driving ban has been lifted. As of Monday evening, it was taking vehicles roughly 7+ hours to leave the site.

Burning Man happens in what is known as the Black Rock Desert; a dry landscape doesn't cope well with even a small amount of rainfall. About an inch of rain fell Friday night into Saturday. On Saturday, attendees were told to conserve resources and to shelter in place as the desert turned to a field of mud. According to news reports, the local sheriff's department closed the road leading into and out of the festival area, with only emergency vehicles allowed to pass.

Over the weekend, Las Vegas was under flash flood warnings with fast-flowing rivers of muddy water on top of dry roads.

It wasn't just Nevada that was hit hard with flooding. Parts of San Bernadino County in California also experienced heavy rainfall from monsoonal thunderstorms, leading to road closures. Recent rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary has saturated the soils in the Southwest making them more susceptible to flash flooding.