Does anyone know how long the sandstorms usually last in the Middle East?

How long is a piece of string.............

A couple of hours seems to be normal, although the shamal winds can hang around for days.

The one in Riyadh right now is the worst I've seen. Better now than a couple of hours ago though!

stunning how it rolled in though... could see kingdom tower one minute, then *whoosh* visibility down to about 100 metres...

and I bet all the Saudi drivers switch on their hazard lights.

Most of them seem to have pulled off the road. Or possibly all crashed. Either way, there's not much traffic out there....

well, lets see what the commute home's like. they (saudi drivers) are nightmarish in rain, can't wait to see what they're like in this...

Do you know if Khobar is also the same?

Locals said they never saw anything of this magnitude before.... I guess this kind of big onse are more common in the Sahara deserts. Worried about my 2-yr old.... thinking about driving down to Khobar for a few days.....

heard from a friend there that yes, it is, but it just copped the storm a few hours after riyadh

http://archive.gulfnews.com/news/gul.../10293438.html

Khobar is fine today.

If anyone is into Thai food, the Phuket Restaurant in Khobar is a real treat.

Do you know of any good Thai restaurant in Riyadh?

On Tuesday afternoon the sky turned YELLOW after newrly 14 + years here in the sand pit . I have never seen any thing as bad as this.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...In_Yellow_Dust


Also have a look at the videos as well.

http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/sa.../10293738.html