# Dust Storms, Sand Storms, and Haboobs!



## Em in Ohio (Jul 1, 2020)

https://www.accuweather.com/en/accuweather-ready/how-and-where-dust-storms-occur/686881

"Dust storms are real terrors that sweep across parts of the world, potentially taking lives as they go. There are three kinds of storms that you might umbrella under the term dust storm, but each is unique in how they are formed and in what they are made of. The three types of storms include a dust storm, a sand storm, and a haboob. "

I'm thinking that "haboob" should be a Word of the Day!


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## RadishRose (Jul 1, 2020)

Such haboob!  

I think I've heard this name before, but forgot.

I think the dust storm came into the US last Thurs, but nothing on the news about it that I've heard. Supposed to give brilliant sunsets.

I skimmed an article in _The Atlantic_-
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/06/saharan-dust-storms-giving-earth-life/613441/

It is good and bad! I learned the usual Saharan sandstorms come into the Amazon in Spring and Fall. But this summer beast travels north, to us. The sands contain precious minerals the Amazon loses every rainstorm, but this one will feed our algae/red tide.

"........_seasonal windfalls of iron-rich Saharan dust become a banquet for red tides, blooms of algae that spill into the ocean like dye, deplete it of oxygen, and release toxins. Dust clouds can also host unwelcome stowaways. “These dust clouds carry a diverse community of microorganisms, some of which have the potential to be plant pathogens or human pathogens,” Griffin says. Some scientists suggest that the dust storms can carry fungal spores or bacteria that spread diseases in corals and encourage algae blooms_. "


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## Em in Ohio (Jul 1, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> Such haboob!
> 
> I think I've heard of this before, but forgot.
> 
> I think the dust storm came into the US last Thurs, but nothing on the news about it that I've heard. Supposed to give brilliant sunsets.


Some lucky folks got great sunsets, others just had air pollution, and others just got a layer of dust to clean up!  From what I read, Florida grew extra hot and Texas got dirty.


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## Gaer (Jul 1, 2020)

Em, You are so well informed on all this.  Are you a meteorologist?  It's impressive!


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## asp3 (Jul 1, 2020)

The view outside of our van waiting to get back into Burning Man in 2007 after picking up our son at the airport.  Dust storms are generally a regular thing at Burning Man.


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## Em in Ohio (Jul 4, 2020)

Gaer said:


> Em, You are so well informed on all this.  Are you a meteorologist?  It's impressive!


Thanks Gaer!  I'm not a meteorologist, but I have always been a "sky watcher!"  I tend to trip a lot when walking with my head in the clouds,


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## fmdog44 (Jul 5, 2020)

Without the annual dust from Africa the Rain Forest would die off.


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## MarciKS (Jul 5, 2020)

We got some of that dust from the Sahara but not as bad as past dust storms from where I lived before. One day I had to have my brother come pick me up from work because I couldn't ride my bike home in the dust because of my lungs.


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## JustBonee (Jul 5, 2020)

The first time we lived through a Haboob in Phoenix,  I thought the world was ending ...    we lived there for 6 years, and saw  at least one  every year.


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## MarciKS (Jul 5, 2020)

Bonnie said:


> The first time we lived through a Haboob in Phoenix,  I thought the world was ending ...    we lived there for 6 years, and saw  at least one  every year.


I would definitely die there.


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## JustBonee (Jul 5, 2020)

Some of them come with lightning and rain  too


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## RadishRose (Jul 5, 2020)

Bonnie said:


> The first time we lived through a Haboob in Phoenix,  I thought the world was ending ...    we lived there for 6 years, and saw  at least one  every year.


Totally amazing!


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## Em in Ohio (Jul 6, 2020)

Bonnie said:


> The first time we lived through a Haboob in Phoenix,  I thought the world was ending ...    we lived there for 6 years, and saw  at least one  every year.


This video is amazing - and terrifying!  Thanks for posting!


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## Em in Ohio (Jul 6, 2020)

https://earthsky.org/earth/what-are-haboobs-amazing-pics-and-videos

This image shows the immense size of a 2018 haboob in Arizona.  I can't fathom the fear of seeing this coming toward my home!


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## asp3 (Jul 7, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> https://earthsky.org/earth/what-are-haboobs-amazing-pics-and-videos
> 
> This image shows the immense size of a 2018 haboob in Arizona.  I can't fathom the fear of seeing this coming toward my home!
> 
> View attachment 112499



Once you've been through a few they're more annoying than anything else.  We've weathered all the dust storms we experienced at Burning Man either in a tent or in an open structure while we were volunteering at the information center.  One just gets used to putting on a mask (much like we do for Covid) and goggles when it gets too dusty.  If you're in a tent you just find things to do inside for a while.  Being in a house during a dust storm would be a luxury for me.


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