UAE Dust Storm

One of the things that we expect living in the UAE is that it will be hot in the summer, after all it is the desert. I have talked about the insane heat we get many times on this blog like here and here but something I don't talk about often is another phenomenon we (people living in the desert) have also grown to expect. The Dust Storm (dum dum duuuuummmm)

Some people call them sand storms and others call them dust storms. I like to use this terms almost as if they are classifications of severity of, well, particles flying in the air that will land on everything.

Days after I moved to Dubai we got this insane sand storm that took over everything. It didn't last long but the winds were strong and there was sand everywhere. It was piled up on windshields and ledges like it had just snowed (Portland style not North Dakota style). My new friends and I were chatting while eating lunch at a food court and all the sudden there was no visibility outside. I looked at my friend Nadia and said something along the lines of "Whoa. What is going on?" And she proceeded to calmly tell me that we get these kind of storms a few times a year. "Excuse me? What kind of storm?" as all my new friend chuckled she replied "Sand storms, Lindsay." suppressing her own laugh

We got tired of waiting out the storm so we ran back to our rooms.... I was surprised at how much the sand hurt as it whipped into our faces and also how it managed to get into my eyes even though I was wearing sun glasses. I was dusting sand out of all kinds of places for days. That was a Sand Storm (at least in my book)

The dust storms are more dirty and just annoying. Blocking out our never ending sunshine to give us a brown glowy horizon instead. The dust storms don't hurt and visibility for driving and stuff is still good enough that it doesn't slow you down day to day. They stick around for a day or two and then they are on their way to go create a haze over somewhere else for a while.

After three years in the UAE I have grown accustom to these storms. They come then they go. It's that simple. We endure heavy, dirty air for a couple days then the skies clear up and we dust our selves off (literally) and enjoy the beauty of Dubai again.

So it was no shock that a day or so after Husband and I landed from our trip to the States that a dust storm rolled in. It hasn't been a particularly bad storm really it's just that it won't leave! We have been home for over three weeks now and we still have this dust storm hanging over our heads (again literally). I have been complaining to family and friends back home who have no sympathy for me as they are battling their own heat wave. Which I guess is fair because I was giving no sympathy in return. Seriously we're at 114 degrees and that is cool for this time of year because said dust storm is blocking ALL THE SUN!

I finally ran across this photo (isn't it cool?) of the dust storm we are stuck in the middle (well actually lower middle to right hand corner-ish)... oh yeah it has covered us AND an entire sea! The upside is it looks like we aren't getting the worst of it

Photo courtesy of NASA

Anyways I thought you would enjoy a little glimpse into life in the desert. Plus maybe it will cheer you up about your own excessive heat. Except when y'all have some crazy snow/ice storm this winter and we have perfect 80 degree weather this dust storm will be a distant memory