This is something I'm sure Hemingway saw once or twice. Check out this huge dust cloud looming over an African city. Sorta reminds you of a scene from the film "The Mummy," right?
The dust storms are known as "Haboob." This one towered over Khartoum, the capital of Sudan in north east Africa Tuesday.
For two hours it carried dust and sand from the Sahara across the city.
The Haboobs are seasonal storms - kinda like our April showers - that usually appear there in the summer months. The weather pattern is caused by downdrafts created when a thunderstorm reaches its final phase. These downdrafts cause descending air to hit the ground and pick up large amounts of dust.
The gathering dust clouds then travel forward at a speed of 30 mph, creating the frightening spectacle. The dust storms can reach a height of 3,000 feet and contain a wall of sand up to 60 miles wide.
Call Gore, someone... I think he may have more evidence for his global warming thing.
The word Haboob comes from the Arabic for "phenomena." For those who wanna win a trivia contest, Haboobs also occur stateside, in hot, dry areas such as Arizona and Texas.
Now ... Check out this pic from "The Mummy." Looks the same, right?
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