Dust Storm - Notable Dust Storms

Notable Dust Storms

• ~524 BC The 50,000 strong army of Cambyses II supposedly buried by a sandstorm en route to the Siwa Oasis.
• ~400 AD The Chinese Silk Road city-state of Niya was abandoned rapidly, perhaps because of a sandstorm, as local legend would suggest. The sand has preserved the city to such an extent it has been referred to as the "Pompeii of the Silk Road."
• 1930s: A series of dust storms displaced hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers in the central United States and Canada during the Dust Bowl.
• 1934: Just one of many notable storms in the 1930s, the storm of 9–11 May 1934 began in the far north-western Great Plains and proceeded east over the northern tier of states and parts of Canada and was notable for removing the vast majority of the soil deposited since the last Ice Age over some parts of its path.
• 1935: Another major dust bowl storm took place on April 14, which became known as Black Sunday.
• 1954-1991: The multi-year droughts in portions of North America of 1954–56, 1976–78, and 1987–91 were noted for dust storms of the intensity seen in the middle 1930s over some fraction of their coverage and timespan, and more sporadically during the times between. The three multi-year droughts were similar to the 1930s in storms being raised by synoptic scale weather events such as cyclones and cold fronts; otherwise the most common trigger is the outflow from convective activity, known as a haboob. Significant events of the latter variety occurred in Colorado and Kansas in May 2004 with winds to 100 mph (161 km/h), Minnesota and Wisconsin in June 2004 causing significant damage, and the upper Middle West in May 1988, notable for strong electrification and lightning activity and by one estimate reaching 30,000 ft (9,144 m) or more. The first and third of this list reached black blizzard intensity, causing total blackout for some period ranging from 90 sec to 10 or more minutes, over some fraction of the ground covered. The 1987-91 drought was especially notable as in the 1930s for the large number of rain of mud events, often generated by dust in suspension and/or carried on upper-level winds.
• 1971: A dust storm that occurred near Tucson, Arizona on July 16 was extensively documented by meteorologists.
• 1983: 1983 Melbourne dust storm: On the afternoon of February 8 a huge dust storm originating in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia covered the city of Melbourne.
• 1997: On May 2, a sandstorm in Libya and Egypt killed 12 people.
• 2007: On Saturday afternoon February 24, a large dust storm originating in the West Texas area of Amarillo covered much of the North Texas area. Strong winds caused extensive property damage to fences, roof shingles, and some buildings. The DFW Airport was severely affected, causing extensive flight delays into and out of the DFW area. Area residents suffered respiratory problems and allergic reactions, causing many people to visit hospitals. This event was also marked by relative humidities down to 1 per cent, in one case the juxtaposition of a c. 70 °F (21 °C) air temp and dew point of −20 °F (–29 °C), in and around of the area affected.
• 2007: In June, a large dust storm generated by Cyclone Yemyin struck Karachi, Pakistan and areas of the Sindh and lower Balochistan, followed by a series of heavy rainfalls which resulted in a death toll of nearly 200.
• 2009: On February 11, a sandstorm in the Kingdom of Bahrain in Sakhir halted Formula One testing for Ferrari, BMW and Toyota.
• 2009: On March 11, a massive dust storm engulfed Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, causing major traffic jams and all flights to be cancelled or diverted.
• 2009: 2009 Australian dust storm: On September 23, a dust storm that started in South Australia and inland New South Wales, Australia, blanketed New South Wales with reddish orange skies. It stretched as far north as southern Queensland. and as far east as New Zealand
• 2010: 2010 China drought and dust storms: A sandstorm that started in Mongolia blasted Beijing on March 20, and covered large areas of China in the following days. Several countries in East Asia were affected. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea recorded extremely poor visibility and air quality in an extremely rare level 5 hazardous rating. A number of residents reported health problems, while flights were canceled or delayed due to poor visibility caused by the sandstorm.
• 2011: A major dust storm swept through the southern portion of the Desert Southwest U.S. State of Arizona on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. The dust storm was triggered from thunderstorms to the south of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Dust from the deserts were blown up by high winds. The winds were estimated to be over 60 mph (97 km/h) and caused low visibility. The storm went through the city of Phoenix a little after 7:00 p.m. local time. The event was captured and filmed by local media and was seen live on national television channels such as The Weather Channel. Local flights in the area were delayed because of the storm. Power outages were also reported.
• 2011: On March 25, 2011, at approximately 5:30 PM (GMT +3) a dust storm swept through Kuwait turning the setting evening sun to immediate darkness reaching minimal visibility in mere minutes. What at first seemed to be smoke from a burning building was in fact a sand storm.
• 2012: On February 25, an extreme dust storm attacked Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where it became totally dark at only 4:00 P.M. local time.
• 2012: on March 19, an extreme dust storm attacked the major cities of Pakistan including Karachi and some parts of Middle East. Air traffic worst affected Massive dust storm hits country’s coastal areas
• 2012: On July 27, 2012, an extreme dust storm covered Phoenix, Arizona
• 2012: On September 6, 2012, an extreme dust storm covered Phoenix, Arizona