Dust Storm

Above, the dust storm in progress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A little while ago, I returned from the Flying J to check my mailbox and to pick up a couple of things.

I almost regret going as the area is in a big dust storm from strong gale winds. As you can see from the photo above, taken only minutes ago, the haze before the mesas is the swirling dust. It is also mixed with pollen. I have been enduring bouts of sneezing and a runny nose for most of the day.

Hopefully, this will all end after tonight.

According to the National Weather Service:

This Afternoon

Patchy blowing dust. Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Windy, with a southwest wind around 40 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph.

Tonight

Areas of blowing dust before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 40 mph decreasing to 15 to 25 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph.