Dust and clouds mingled over Utah in late February 2012. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of a dust storm on February 23.The dust arises from the Great Salt Lake Desert, with
In late February 2012, a dust storm in the Texas Panhandle dropped visibility to near-zero, and caused numerous accidents and two deaths, according to news station WJLA. The dust swept from eastern New Mexico through Texas, forming a giant arc north of Lubbock.
A dust plume blew off the coast of western Africa on February 6, 2012. It was spanning hundreds of kilometers. Distinct plumes blow off the coast of Western Sahara over the ocean, but the large veil of dust in the southwest likely arose farther inland. Sandy desert
A massive dust storm hit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, disrupting road traffic and bringing public life almost to a standstill. Many schools suspended classes and informed parents to take their kids home well before the school day had ended, while some school authorities have
A dust storm swept over the Arabian Peninsula in early February 2012. This dust storm follows a familiar pattern for this region, with especially thick dust occurring in Saudi Arabia’s southwest. Toward the northeast, the dust thins enough to allow the dark waters of
The dust plumes that arose in the western Sahara Desert on January 18, 2012, continued their westward journey the following day. A giant crescent-shaped dust plume was seen over the Atlantic Ocean on January 19. The plume spans several hundred kilometers. Off the
A dense cloud of dust swept across southern Afghanistan and Pakistan on December 20, 2011. The dust was largely hemmed in by the Makran and Sulaiman Ranges in Pakistan with only a few wisps reaching south over the Arabian Sea. By the time Aqua MODIS flew over just
A small dust plume blew from Saudi Arabia over the Red Sea on December 12, 2011. Arising near the coast, north of the city of Jiddah (Jeddah), the plume arcs toward the southwest. The dust is thick enough to completely hide the water below, but the plume stops short of
Dust plumes blew through Syria and Iraq in early December 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on December 10, 2011. The dust plumes arise from discrete points in Syria and
In the southern Sahara Desert, a gap between mountain ranges makes for a natural wind tunnel. Situated within this wind tunnel, Chad’s Bodele Depression is the site of frequent dust storms. In early December 2011, dust plumes blew out of the depression toward the
