We were sitting in the airplane waiting for take-off when this huge wall of a sand/dirt cloud rolled up.  The forces of nature were seriously at work that day in a way that I have never seen before!

I’m told that this particular “force of nature” is called an haboob:

Definition: A haboob (Arabic: هَبوب‎ habūb “blasting/drafting”) is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current. Haboobs occur regularly in arid regions throughout the world.

It took a little while for the dust to settle, and for the plane to take off…but in the mean time, I enjoyed watching this spectacular sight, especially from where I was sitting, safe inside the great big plane!

Oh the forces of nature…they are found everywhere you look, some are subtle and some, like this haboob, come roaring in!