THIS week marks 10 years since the infamous "red dawn" dust storm swept across eastern Australia and ejected more than two million tonnes of mineral soil into the Pacific Ocean.
Now, a decade on, the landscape is primed to produce more dust storms during the months ahead.
A strong cold front swept across south-eastern Australia in late September 2009, towards the end of the Millennium Drought.
This was Australia's largest loss of soil ever reported from a dust storm.
This frontal system whipped up masses of dry topsoil as it ploughed across the parched outback.
This system caused a wall of dust to sweep across eastern Australia from September 22 to 24 in 2009, affecting multiple states and territories.
At one stage, the dust plume stretched more than 3000km from northern Queensland into the Tasman Sea.
According to CSIRO figures, the estimated cost of that September 2009 dust storm was about $300 million.
Most of this cost was attributed to household cleaning and associated activities.
Spring is a peak time of year for dust storms in NSW as the transition months between winter and summer see cold air from the Southern Ocean clashing with much warmer air over the Australian continent.
These contrasting air masses lead to increasingly turbulent weather, which can produce dust storms and elevate fire danger.
Dust storms are also exacerbated by drought, with dry and exposed soil becoming easily lifted into the atmosphere by strong frontal systems.
Parts of NSW have entered spring amid one of their worst droughts on record, with vast swathes of dry topsoil currently exposed to the elements.
A number of dust storms have already occurred in recent weeks, including one that swept through farms, towns and even some ski resorts in NSW last weekend.
Australia's official seasonal outlooks do not provide any information regarding the likelihood or severity of dust storms.
However, all of the ingredients are in place for dust storms to proliferate in NSW during the next few months.
