At least eight people have died after a pile-up involving more than 70 vehicles caught in a dust storm.

Motorists on the I-70 near Goodland, in Kansas, were hit by a sudden wall of dirt on Friday, dropping visibility to almost zero and causing drivers to slow down and collide.

Winds reaching up to 70mph whipped up dust that then became trapped in a cold front, and pictures show several lorries were involved in the resulting collisions.

Local media reported more than 30 people were taken to hospital, with firefighters having to cut some out of vehicles.

A preliminary investigation found 71 vehicles were involved, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson April McCollum.

Jeremy Martin, the National Weather Service meteorologist for Goodland, said it’s hard to tell how thick dust is from afar, so drivers don’t know they won’t be able to see until they are in it.

“It was hard to even keep your eyes open outside because there was so much dust in the air,” he added.

“It kind of stung to even breathe out in it.”

There were similar conditions in eastern Colorado, which prompted authorities to warn drivers there is “zero visibility” due to “high winds and blowing dirt”.

Jerry Burkhart, the fire and emergency services chief in Lamar, Colorado, simply said “you couldn’t see”.

“The best thing to do is get way off the road in a parking lot or something like that,” he added.

Blinding dust also forced New Mexico to close the I-25 from the Colorado border.

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Daniel Tong, an associate professor of atmospheric chemistry at George Mason University, said dust storms coat roads with fine particles that slow braking.

This kind of phenomenon is frequent and widespread enough across the US, he said, to warrant inclusion in driving tests.

Meanwhile, a weekend of storms and tornados across southern and mid-west states, including Kansas, killed 42 people.