Northeast Arizona Dust Storm

Frank sent me this:

A dust storm struck northeastern Arizona on April 3, 2009. With winds over 145 kilometers (90 miles) per hour reported near Meteor Crater, east of Flagstaff, the storm reduced visibility and forced the temporary closure of part of Interstate 40, according to The Arizona Republic.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on April 3, 2009. In this image, clear skies allow a view of multiple source points of this dust storm. The source points occur along an arc that runs from northwest to southeast. Blowing toward the northeast, the dust plumes exhibit a range of colors, including pale beige and red-brown, reflecting the varied soils from which the plumes arise.

I reply:

Wow! I hate that when that happens! Too many sheep graze the dessicated lands of the Navajo and so when the wind increases, as it always does in spring, there is nothing to hold the soil down.

Frank replies:

At 90 mph they may also lose a few sheep…