They are known under various names: Habub, Simum, Black Blizzard. It is a thick sand wall, miles long, which moves across the sand dunes bringing Biblical darkness to large parts of the world. Scorching hot winds (up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit) carry the sand with hurricane speed ... What seems extreme to us is normal in Africa and the Middle East.
On the following pictures you can see such storm passing over the Israeli Negev desert from the direction of Sinai. Wind speed is about 45 miles per hour, and judging by the picture made by the photographer Eviatar Ben Zedef, height of the sand wall is about 4,000 feet:
Sand Storm in Khartoum, Sudan:
One alarming fact: sand storm is occurring 10 times more frequently today than fifty years ago. Take, for example, Mauritania. In the sixties Mauritania had an average of only two dust storms a year, while today they occur 8-10 times per year.
The United States of America has not escaped this disaster. "Black blizzard" swept the Great Plain during the thirties and left a sandy track from Texas all the way to Chicago. The following historical photos are from dust storm in Texas in 1935:
The storm caused a huge exodus and displacement of the population of the Great Plains. It is estimated that about 2.5 million people left that area (15% of the population moved to California, for example).
This is how people describe the "black blizzard": "Nothing could be seen without electric light, in some places you could not even see a few feet in front of you ... storm came suddenly, without warning, and left leaving behind a black trail."
The following video is a similar dust storm, this time in Iraq, where we can clearly see how the day turns to night:
Pictures from satellites help us to get a better look at the scale of such events: For example, this is a sandstorm over Burkina Faso, where we can clearly see that it covers almost the whole country:
"Jugo" and other winds which blow with hurricane speed carry dust and sand across the oceans ... Winds take large amount of sand from the African coast and from the Sahara and carry it for thousands of miles across the Atlantic:
Sandstorm in Astana, Kazakhstan's new capital:
Beauty and Dust
Large proportions of these storms and atmospheric changes that they bring create new horizons and opportunities for photographers.
In the lower left corner of this spectacular picture we can see the Arizona sandstorm approaching. Magnificent sunset colored the sky, but what really emphasizes the beauty are particles of sand that were raised in the atmosphere.
.. and the enlarged version ...
Phoenix, Arizona - sand storm approaching
In the end, we have a "magical image". In fact, this is not a sandstorm, but it really looks like one. This cloud formation is called "morning glory" and the picture was taken over Queensland in Australia. You can see a "cloud surfer" flying with a motor glider above the cloud formation.
images source: darkroastedblend.com
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