Members of Camp Reverbia work amid a dust storm that hit the Black Rock Desert on the eve of Burning Man. Winds reached 50 mph Saturday.
Courtesy of Angie Peacock
A ferocious dust storm engulfed the Burning Man, toppling tents, overturning vehicles and destroying art installations Saturday.
Courtesy of Angie Peacock
Fierce dust storms destroyed many campsites in the Black Rock Desert on Saturday, the evening before Burning Man’s opening day.
Courtesy of Chris Pietsch
Burning Man 2025: Gates reopen after dust storm as delays and flight woes continue
A fierce dust storm hit the Black Rock Desert on the eve of its annual Burning Man festival, causing at least four minor injuries and damaging campsites that had been set up early.
Winds of up to 50 mph stirred up the lake bed’s alkaline dust so ferociously that participants in the annual art and culture festival reported not being able to see beyond a foot. Still, gates to the festival had opened by Sunday morning, with organizers cautioning new arrivals to “drive safely!”
Article continues below this ad
At least one prominent art installation was destroyed in the storm — “Black Cloud,” an 8-ton inflatable thundercloud created by a Ukrainian-led team. The piece, which was meant to symbolize the “specter of world war,” withstood the storm for 15 minutes before ripping apart, according to a news release announcing its destruction.
“Perhaps this storm has taken the threat with it — a quiet hope on Ukraine’s Independence Day, drifting away on the desert winds,” spokespeople for the team wrote.
A dust storm at Burning Man destroyed the Ukrainian installation “Black Cloud, ” shown before the storm hit. The piece symbolized global threats and premonitions of catastrophes.
Courtesy of Gregory Vepryk
The dust storm arrived Saturday evening after strong thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada drifted off the mountains and whipped up strong winds in the Nevada desert. The National Weather Service had previously warned of strong thunderstorms and potential flooding in Mammoth Lakes, Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas Saturday afternoon.
As the storms moved toward the desert, rain became less frequent while the wind and lightning remained.
Article continues below this ad
At 5:14 p.m. Saturday, the weather service issued a dust storm advisory for Black Rock City and warned of “a wall of blowing dust coming off the Smoke Creek and Black Rock Desert playa areas is tracking northward at around 30 mph.”
The agency warned of visibility less than 1 mile and wind gusts exceeding 45 mph.
A fierce dust storm hit the Black Rock Desert on the eve of its annual Burning Man festival Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. The storm affected visibility, flipped tents and caused some minor injuries.
Courtesy Angie Peacock
A weather station at Black Rock City Airport measured gusts up to 52 mph at 5:50 p.m.
“During the storm, we did not expect it to get as bad as it was,” one Burner, Angie Peacock, told the Chronicle in an text message Sunday. “We were expecting 35 mph winds according to the radar we were watching so we made sure everything was secure around our camp. Very quickly things turned for the worst, It became complete white out conditions. We couldn’t see about 15 feet in front of us. We saw structures being ripped and torn down by the wind speeds even though we buttoned everything down as best as we could.
Article continues below this ad
“Most of us took shelter people that are in our tents, got into our shipping containers, and then everyone else in RVs got into the RVs until it blew over then we all came out, went and walked. Our property saw all the damage. Most of us went to sleep and we woke up really early this morning at 6 a.m. to recover our camp. I want to stress that when things like this happen we don’t get upset or worried. We know that our camp will rebuild and that it actually brings us closer together.”
A structure at Camp Reverbia was destroyed Saturday in the dust storm that hit the Black Rock Desert, site of the annual Burning Man celebration of art and culture.
Courtesy of Angie Peacock
Camp residents posted a slew of videos to social media featuring dust tornadoes, destroyed campsites, and fellow campers struggling to hold onto bucking canvases as the wind threatened to rip them away.
“Every popup canopy I’ve seen has been destroyed,” one Burner wrote on Reddit.
In an emailed statement, Burning Man spokesperson Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley said the weather had since improved, and that campgoers’ response to the adverse conditions demonstrated the festival’s spirit.
Article continues below this ad
“The communal effort and resilience of the Burning Man community is on full display,” she wrote. “Participants are setting up camp and, due to yesterday evening’s dust and wind storms, are supporting others where repair work is needed for camps and art installations.”
The National Weather Service warned of a marginal risk of flash flooding from excessive rainfall in Black Rock Desert on Sunday and a slight risk in the Sierra Nevada from South Lake Tahoe to Mammoth Lakes.
Baron Lynx
Even after Saturday’s storm, Burners won’t be out of the woods from hazardous weather.
The weather service warned of possible monsoon thunderstorms and heavy rain Sunday through Wednesday, raising concerns that this year’s festival could echo disastrous 2023 conditions, when heavy storms stranded tens of thousands of attendees amid thick mud.
Article continues below this ad
“It’s becoming increasingly likely that we could see an even greater flash flood threat,” the weather service wrote in an online forecast. “If you’re on the playa at the Black Rock Desert, you may very well be in for a muddy mess Monday through Wednesday.”
Slow-moving storms could drop an inch of rain or more in a short period. Sunday’s flood risk was highest in the Sierra Nevada, roughly from Tahoe to Mammoth, but also extended toward Reno.