Whiteout conditions due to swirling dust forced Burning Man organisers to postpone entry to thousands of people descending upon Black Rock Desert in Nevada.

The dangerous driving conditions resulted in a three-hour closure on Sunday, the first day of the event, which sees more than 70,000 “burners” set up temporary camp in the Nevada desert.

The Burning Man traffic Twitter tweeted: “GATE CURRENTLY CLOSED. Extreme weather is expected to continue for several hours. We are not allowing access from CR34 onto the playa and advise all to hold in Reno or return there if en route.”

Others were advised to seek shelter.

At 6.30pm, the gates to Burning Man were reopened, according to the Reno Gazette Journal, but participants were experiencing entry delays of up to 10 hours.

Prior to the whiteouts, thousands of attendees had already begun setting up the temporary town in the remote desert two hours outside of Reno, Nevada.

Burners already in the playa donned masks and goggles to protect against the conditions, it was reported, as winds were predicted to reach 40mph.

Whiteouts and dust storms are common during the event as thousands of RVs and vehicles make their way into the playa, disturbing the sand.

As of Monday, the weather was clear and wait time had decreased to one hour.

“If you have been waiting, now is a good time to enter,” the Twitter account updated.

Attendees regularly deal with dust storms at Burning Man (Bureau of Land Management - Nevada)

Burning Man 2018 will takes place between August 26 and September 3.

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During the week-long festival, burners can view art installations, explore the playa and disconnect from the outside world.