Habub

Habub ( Arabic: هَبوب هَبوب - “blowing frantically”) is a powerful sand and dust storm . It is noted in the deserts of Egypt and Arabia (in the north of Sudan , in the Upper Nile basin), as well as in other parts of the world. In the rainy season, the habub is preceded by a heavy thunderstorm, which usually begins no more than two hours after the storm. Khabub is associated with the rapid movement (up to 60 km / h) of a cold atmospheric front , in front of which a cloud forms in the form of a dust wall up to 1.5 km high and up to 30 km wide. Dust rises several kilometers.

Habub is part of a whirlwind in powerful cumulonimbus clouds, the lower part of an arc squall, tilted tornado . Summer storms on the plains of India are also called.

It usually happens in the afternoon from May to October; the average duration is about three hours. This wind often has a destructive force. In Khartoum, Khabub is observed on average 24 times a year.