sandstorms
Gritty desert squalls
Sandstorms are violent windstorms that lift and carry large quantities of sand and dust, reducing visibility and making travel dangerous.
Common in deserts and arid regions, they can darken skies for hours: The sandstorm forced us to shelter in place.
Metaphorically, any overwhelming onslaught: a sandstorm of criticism.
Wind-formed sand ridges
- SaharaLargest hot desert
- GobiCentral Asian arid region
- haboobIntense wind-driven sand wall
- siroccoScorching African wind
caravan · nomad · Bedouin · camel · oasis · mirage · arid · scorching
Intense wind-driven sand wall
- dustFine settled particles
- windstormViolent atmospheric disturbance
- siroccoScorching African wind
- galeSevere sustained wind
squall · turbulence · cyclone · vortex · tempest · visibility · forecast · weather
Rough enough to erode
- coarseRough in texture
- granularMade of tiny particles
- roughUneven in surface
- particlesMinute pieces of matter
sediment · silica · infiltrating · permeating · clogging · irritating · scratchy · powdery
Continuing without pause
- punishingExtremely taxing or severe
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
- inhospitableUnwelcoming, harsh to visitors
brutal · merciless · stinging · biting · fierce · intense · pelting · lashing
Shallow surface wound
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- scouringVigorous abrasive cleaning
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
- corrosionChemical wearing away
denudation · attrition · pitting · wearing · etching · grinding · stripping · degradation
Range of clear sight
- obscuringMaking less visible
- whiteoutSnow blindness weather
- disorientationLoss of spatial awareness
- veilFabric that obscures
shroud · darkness · haze · murk · opaque · concealment · blanketing · engulfing
dunes
Wind-formed sand ridges
sirocco · caravan · nomad · Bedouin · camel · oasis · mirage · arid · scorching · barren
haboob
Intense wind-driven sand wall
gale · squall · turbulence · cyclone · vortex · tempest · visibility · forecast · weather · atmosphere
abrasive
Rough enough to erode
particles · sediment · silica · infiltrating · permeating · clogging · irritating · scratchy · powdery · residue
relentless
Continuing without pause
- punishingExtremely taxing or severe
- severeExtremely harsh or strict
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
inhospitable · brutal · merciless · stinging · biting · fierce · intense · pelting · lashing · buffeting
abrasion
Shallow surface wound
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- scouringVigorous abrasive cleaning
- deflationSustained decrease in prices
corrosion · denudation · attrition · pitting · wearing · etching · grinding · stripping · degradation · polishing
visibility
Range of clear sight
- obscuringMaking less visible
- whiteoutSnow blindness weather
- disorientationLoss of spatial awareness
veil · shroud · darkness · haze · murk · opaque · concealment · blanketing · engulfing · impenetrable
- China Environmentgiant panda, Yangtze River, Yellow River, Three Gorges Dam, Tibetan Plateau
- desert researchdrought, aridity, desertification, erosion, water scarcity
- Egyptian DesertSahara, dunes, oases, arid landscape, wadis
- Sahara ecologyfennec fox, dromedary, dromedaries, camels, dunes
- Sahara travelcaravan routes, date palms, ancient trade routes, Timbuktu, desert survival
- desertdune, dunes, ergs, erg, Sahara
sandstormsrainstorms
Heavy precipitation events
rain · rainfall · downpours · monsoons · precipitation
sandstormsclear skies
Absence of cloud cover
blue skies · stillness · fair weather · tranquility · calm