Visibility dust storms

Among climate phenomena we should mention mists, dust storms, thunderstorms, and hail. Mists are most often observed over the Aral Sea in winter, lasting, on the average, 6 days a month. They are connected with the activity of the Asian anticyclone that facilitates formation of inversions under which the condensation products accumulate. In summer practically no mists occur. Dust storms are recorded, on the average, about 10 days a year [4]. They usually originate at wind velocities of 10-14 ms The visibility in this case may become nearly zero, although more often it drops to 3 km. Thunderstorms and hails are rare events in the Aral region, their number decreases from north to south. 

Individual dust storms from the Sahara desert have been shown to transfer material from the northwest coast of Africa, across the Atlantic, to the east coast of the United States (Ott et al. 1991). For example, Prospero et al. (1987) suggested that enough Saharan dust is carried into the Miami area to significantly reduce visibility during the summer months. Similar dust transport occurs from the deserts of Asia across the Pacific Ocean... 

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