We woke up yesterday morning to partly sunny skies and what we thought were rain clouds to the southwest, but when we stepped outside, hot air hit us in the face. Those weren't rain clouds, it was dust. By 11:00 am, the wind picked up, visibility dropped to less than a mile, the air smelled like dirt, and the sky was an eerie shade of pink. The first dust storm of the year had arrived.
In Hebrew (and Arabic, too) "khamsin" is the word for the hot winds that carry dust from Africa and the Arabian peninsula. You can usually smell them before they arrive, the air smells like dirt long before you can no longer see the sun or the sea. Ordinarily, the storms arrive overnight and begin to abate by evening. Yesterday the storm arrived late and at 11:00 pm, I still couldn't see Haifa port through the haze. This morning, the sun is shining a bit stronger, but the dust is still hanging in the air.
The two pictures below were taken from our balcony. They show pretty much the same view so you can see the difference between a clear day and a khamsin day.
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| Haifa on a clear day |
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| Haifa during a dust storm |
According to many of our friends, last year's three severe dust storms were the worst they could remember. This winter was also one of the driest so I'm really hoping that the storms aren't even worse this spring. They are certainly starting early - not a good sign...
No, not a good sign at all that they are starting early. I hid indoors as much as I could. Love your photos though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Abby! I'm hiding inside again today, too. It's still miserable out, though I can at least see across the bay finally.
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