Posted on 03/29/2003 7:54:24 AM PST by knighthawk
Weather experts are forecasting more sandstorms in Iraq next week, with temperatures starting their climb towards unbearable summer highs.
After swirling sandstorms struck southern Iraq during the week, German forecasters are predicting more high winds in the coming week.
"In southern Iraq and in Kuwait there could again be sandstorms because the wind will be strong," German independent weather service Wetter.com said.
The forecasters, using data from Germany's national forecasting service DWD, say conditions will improve in Baghdad over the weekend but next week will be changeable.
Searing heat
Meteorologists in the United States say temperatures could soar to an above-average 32.22 degrees Celsius next Wednesday, overshadowing fears of more storms that can reduce visibility to zero and damage high-tech military equipment.
"The next big story you are going to hear about is the warmth, it's going to start getting very warm there, by the middle part of next week," senior meteorologist with Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather, Bernie Rayno, said.
"We are going to start hearing less and less about the sandstorms and more and more about the intense heat."
Wetter.com predicts temperatures will reach 29 degrees Celsius in Basra on Wednesday and 27 degrees Celsius in Baghdad.
Earlier this week, a US General in Qatar said high winds, sandstorms and thunderstorms have had an impact on the battlefield in Iraq but the invasion of Iraq remained on track.
Mr Rayno says sandstorms could die out as the Middle East's storm season ends but with that comes the challenge of unpredictability.
Up to 30 sandstorms are expected in Iraq's January to March wet season every year, when storm systems bring not only rain but sustained high winds.
From April onwards, storms became almost impossible to predict because high winds can no longer be linked to patterns but to subtle pressure differences instead.
Time to turn off the air conditioning in Baghdad.
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