Simoom

or Simoon, an Arabic name for the dust storms of Africa and Arabia. Under the intense heat of the noonday sun vast tracts of sand become almost as hot as boiling water, and create atmospheric disturbances not unlike the so-called cyclones of the West. Powerful currents of air catch up and carry along clouds of blinding dust finer than flour. Caravans caught in a simoom are exposed to as great a danger as travelers caught in a blizzard. Usually, the storm lasts but a few minutes or an hour, in which case, the camels lie down on the sand, close their eyes, and nostrils, while their masters cover their heads with shawls and wait for the blast to blow over. Sometimes, however, the simoom lasts for several hours, or even two or three days, in which case entire caravans may be buried beneath sand from which they never rise. See Wind; Camel; Sahara