A MASSIVE DUST storm blanketed the south-eastern Australian town of Mildura yesterday, with day turning to night in a matter of minutes as a weather front moved in. 

At 5pm in the Victoria town, it looked like midnight in the afternoon as the dust rolled in.

The Bureau of Meteorology for the region said a severe weather warning was in place as wind gusts reached 57 km/h during the storm. 

Forecasters said that the strong winds had whipped up the dust which then covered the town, but it was unusual for that to happen at this time of year. 

Local resident Brando Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald that the sky went from blue to grey to orange and finally to pitch black in the space of 15 minutes.

She said: “We heard it coming at about 4.55pm and by the time we came out we could see the massive orange cloud coming across.

Then the whole town went pitch black. All the cars started going really slowly when the orange came across. Then the street lights came on and we could only see headlights so everyone was driving at snail’s pace.