Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dust Cloak

This isn't clicked in sepia for your amusement, nope. Kuwaits been feeling all Yellow lately. I've been humming Coldplay on account of it for sure.

Dust clads every inch of the air, clogs every window sill, seeps indoors and leaves a film of itself everywhere. It's not bad except when you realize you're literally another one who bites the dust. Crunchy. Blech.
Hazard lights on while they still race through the fast lane. Wataniya, one of Kuwaits telecom provider, sent a message to all its users telling them not to use their hazards. I hope no one gets stuck or stalls in the middle of the road, because their hazards being on aint gonna distinguish them from the morons on the road who've put it on so they can be seen.

I'll take your snow anyday! Give me your snow!!!!! Does anyone have snow anymore anyway?
And if you're really bored, you can read this. I apparently was.
Kuwait was blinded yesterday by a sand and dust storm and buffeted by winds reaching speeds of up to 85 km per hour. The dusty weather came as a surprise at this time of the year as it is not common for Kuwait to have such weather in February. Sandstorms, which usually occur during the summer, caught many off guard. A number of schools and public departments closed early because of the weather.
Northwesterly winds were blamed for the sandstorm. "Wind speeds reached more than 50 km per hour in some areas. This caused sand tornados that reduced visibility to less than 100 km in desert areas. The red color of the dust was noticeable across the country and the dust was said to come from the Iraqi desert. The weather also caused high sea waves," meteorologist Adel Al-Sadoun told Kuwait Times

15 comments:

Bella@That damn expat said...

That's so weird! And cool in a way.

The closest I got to this was in Portugal when our car skidded off the road because of the sand. It was worse than snow, no way to gain control!

Asphodel said...

Yep, I usually steer clear of the sand but further out the sand begins to cover the more narrow roads and it does get very .... well, skiddy. Its supposed to simmer down tonight, fingers crossed.

blognut said...

Wow! I never really thought of sand being a weather hazard. I guess that's because I live smack-dab in the middle of the US. I'll send you a snowday.

Jared said...

Wow,that's crazy. Hey,if I get a spare snow day here in TN,I'll send ya one to.

Anonymous said...

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Thomas said...

Wow that's REALLY hectic! It's like living in a mug of coffee!

xxx said...

Great blog!

Missy said...

We had hurricane force winds here this weeks! Never happened before! I think the weather/climate is freaking out everywhere! I wish I could send you some snow!

♥ Braja said...

I didn't realize you were in Kuwait. I love the pics; moody. I know what you mean: I lived in Rajasthan for a year and suffered plenty of dust storms, though possibly nothing like Kuwait. And I'd think of people, "Oh you wanna bitch about the weather??? Bring it ON!!"

Asphodel said...

Thanks blognut. Yeah it can be sometimes!

Thanks Jared, I'm actually gonna start looking out for it now! :-)

Yay, you make my heart flutter, Austin :-|

Haha it is... but tastes nothing like it lol. Welcome by.

Ribbon, merci!

Missy, it seriously is freaking out everywhere. Well, when it snowed in Baghdad the first time in 100 years last year, that was the biggest shocker thoguh I think.

Hahaha Braja, yea seriously. I'd take some pelting rain over this though, but the grass is always greener on the other side. Cant believe I ahvent done Rajasthan yet, someday though! :-)

Errant Gosling said...

Those photos are eerily beautiful. We get dust storms here as well, with heavily reduced visibility. The stuff gets absolutely everywhere. But, the dust is always more gray then red. Yours are likely worse as well.

Laura @ My Thoughts-Uninterrupted said...

That is crazy. I don't blame you for wanting snow instead...at least it looks more cheery. Even rain looks better than a dust/sand storm!

Love the blog, consider me a follower!

Asphodel said...

Error! Heya, yep it is crazy. We had another dust storm after this one but not as bad as this. Gottabrave it through I guess eh!


Hey thanks Laura, trust me comments like that shouldnt be underestimated in their ability to inspire... I havent posted in a bit!


The reason Kuwait gets crazy duty is because it hasnt rained in too long, if it doesnt before summer, the rest of the year would have more dust storms than usual.

Anonymous said...

lets hope the future ones are less bad

Asphodel said...

Well, better rain storms than dust storms! :-D