Dust in the wind: A wall of sand moves through Al Asad (amazing photos!)

http://www.marines.mil/ ^ | (April 26, 2005) | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Dust in the wind: A wall of sand moves through Al Asad
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005426134811
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge



AL ASAD, Iraq (April 26, 2005) -- A dust storm similar to special effects on the big screen bellowed across the western desert of Iraq on April 26. The storm was spawned near the border of Syria and Jordan. Forward Operating Base Korean Village experienced tornadoes around 2 p.m. The storm moved in a northeasterly direction until it reached Al Asad, around 6:45.

Weather forecasters here described the storm as a downburst. "A downburst is a strong downdraft resulting in an outward burst of damaging winds at ground level," said Gunnery Sgt. John B. Badeaux, weather forecaster for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward). "Downburst winds can produce damage similar to a strong tornado," he added.

The ensuing storm increased energy as the winds pushed over the desert, which created a wall of dirt. According to weather officials a dust storm this strong is extremely rare for this region of Iraq.

Badeaux said these types of conditions make forecasting difficult in a desert environment. "There are absolutely no indicators that allow forecasters to confidently predict the timing and intensity of a storm like this."

According to forecasters, thunderstorms were observed on satellite 30 to 40 miles from Al Asad. However, no thunderstorms or tornadoes were recorded on the air base.

As the storm moved closer the sky changed to a shade of orange until total darkness blanketed the ground. The storm passed over in about 45 minutes, leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Forecaster say the wall of dust may have reached 4,000 to 5,000 feet.

Editors Note: This dust storm was a spectacular sight and may look worse than it actually was. No one was injured and no equipment was damaged here.

Photos included with story:

	AL ASAD, Iraq—A dust storm similar to special effects on the big screen bellowed across the western desert of Iraq on April 26. The storm was spawned near the border of Syria and Jordan. Weather forecasters here described the dust storm as a downburst. The ensuing storm increased energy as the winds pushed over the desert, which created a wall of dirt. Weather officials said that a downburst this strong is extremely rare for this region of Iraq. As the storm moved closer the sky changed to a shade of orange until total darkness blanketed the ground. The storm passed over in about 45 minutes, leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Forecaster say the wall of dust may have reached 4,000 to 5,000 feet, based on the height of the clouds above it. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge
	AL ASAD, Iraq—A dust storm similar to special effects on the big screen bellowed across the western desert of Iraq on April 26. The storm was spawned near the border of Syria and Jordan. Weather forecasters here described the dust storm as a downburst. The ensuing storm increased energy as the winds pushed over the desert, which created a wall of dirt. Weather officials said that a downburst this strong is extremely rare for this region of Iraq. As the storm moved closer the sky changed to a shade of orange until total darkness blanketed the ground. The storm passed over in about 45 minutes, leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Forecaster say the wall of dust may have reached 4,000 to 5,000 feet, based on the height of the clouds above it. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge
	AL ASAD, Iraq-A dust storm similar to special effects on the big screen bellowed across the western desert of Iraq on April 26. The storm was spawned near the border of Syria and Jordan. Weather forecasters here described the dust storm as a downburst. The ensuing storm increases energy as the winds push over the desert, which creates a wall of dirt. Weather officials say that a downburst this strong is extremely rare for this region of Iraq. As the storm moved closer the sky changed to a shade of orange until total darkness blanketed the ground. The storm passed over in about 45 minutes, leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Forecaster say the wall of dust may have reached 4,000 to 5,000 feet, based on the height of the clouds above it. Photo by: Gunnery Sgt. Shannon Arledge

[BlueNgold]

Wow

[Run Silent Run Deep]

I see this several times a summer out here in Az

[Ramius]

Wow. I've never seen anything remotely like that.

[visualops]

Whoa!

[Rakkasan1]

gritty undapants ping

[Majic]

Whoa, incredible! Thanks for sharing them.

Weather like this makes Twentynine Palms look like paradise.

[Ramius]

Heh... given my previous comment... and given that I have seen the dust storms in Phoenix... OK... *remotely* like that. :-)

But still...

[blackdog]

Allah's wrath on Americans. A follow up to the giant killer spiders that sent American troops running to mamma like little girls. Of course the Imams who told of the giant spiders sent by Allah couldn't show anyone a spider....or picture....or leg.

A dust storm? Feh! Nice postcard.

[mattdono]

I'm sure that Dan Rather is investigating. Word from his "inside" source say that the downburst was related, somehow, to Abu Ghraib. At least that's what a recent document obtained by CBS says...

[sneer] [snicker]

[TomGuy]

Looks like a sand tsunami.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

lol

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Reminds me of the movie Hidalgo.

[cmsgop]

"Look at Me I am Sandy Dee"

[underdognewsgrl]

I saw a mini-version of one of these in the Arizona desert one time, rolling through a valley among the mountains along I-10 around the California border. I was coming down out of the pass and so was able to look down on this brown tide as it rolled across the field of view, completely blanketing evrything on the gorund beneath it. Pretty otherworldly.

[silent_jonny]

Awesome

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Good one!

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I would like to see one - from a distance.

[ken21]

i've seen dust storms like that in western nebraska.

after the dust storm it gets very quiet.

then come the hail storms and tornadoes.

[AGreatPer]

Not good for machinery, vehicles, airplanes. Awesome.

Honey, did you get a new air filter?