A gust of wind sweeps over bare soil, kicking up enough dirt and dust to cut visibility to nearly zero, and for drivers, the dust storm seems to come out of nowhere.Such conditions resulted in a pileup on Interstate 70 last week in western Kansas involving dozens of cars and trucks that left eight people dead.

The weather cut a swathe of destruction across an area of the country that is home to more than 100 million people.

A powerful storm system that tore across the United States in recent days is winding down Monday, but in its wake are devastated communities across states hit with violent tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms spun off by the massive system.