Shamal

For the past few days there have been some minor shamals or sandstorms in the afternoon and evening. Normally the sky would turn orange-ish and there would be a fair amount of sand flying around, just enough to be an annoyance. Yesterday afternoon it seemed a little stronger than the previous days. This picture doesn't do it justice, but from from the time we entered the chow hall and finished eating the sun had been blotted out and you could not see more than 5-10 feet in front of you.


What is normally a 5-10 minute walk took about 25 minutes blind, and everyone was coated with a thick layer of dusty sand. Think about your normal north eastern snow storm and change the nice fluffy flakes to flying beach sand. Some of the local Iraqis said they had not seen one like that for 20 years.