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PBS documentary 'The Dust Bowl' debuts Nov. 18 and 19

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The hub of the disaster was Boise City in Cimarron County, the westernmost county in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Neighboring areas — the Texas Panhandle, southwestern Kansas, southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico — also were among the hardest hit.

The massive dust storms peaked on April 14, 1935, a day that became known as Black Sunday. Towering columns of dust choked out the daylight, reducing visibility to a few feet in areas throughout the Dust Bowl.

“The Dust Bowl” features interviews with 26 survivors, the observations of two women who left behind written accounts, seldom-seen movie footage, previously unpublished photographs and music by Woody Guthrie.

“Unlike any other story that we've told,” Burns said, “this is almost completely a bottom-up story, told by the folks who experienced it, their own memories. That's what makes this particularly special for us.”

Staff writer Ken Raymond contributed to this story.

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