Today's Weather Forecast - Dust
You probably don't think "Dust" is a real weather forecast, but around here, it is. Just check out the graphic to the right. I know, you're wondering why it says October 5 - well I clipped it on October 5, which was a really bad dust day. I was saving it for a post but, lucky me, we've had a bunch of pretty clear days since then so . . . I held onto it. That changed yesterday morning, when I stepped out of my building and took a nice deep lungful of dust.Now, dust is not smog - we've got plenty of that with all the generators that run in Baghdad. Dust is, well, dust. This is not to be confused with dust storms. I haven't been in a dust storm yet, but I have been around on windy dust days, which is pretty nasty. The difference between dust storms and dust days (or I've been told) is whether you can see only 10 feet in front of you or 300 feet in front of you. I will blog when the dust storms arrive. But for now, dust is it.
This stuff is like talcum powder, except it's tan colored. It gets up in the air and just hangs there. Well, hangs there until it settles on to everything. You blink a few times wondering if your eyes aren't working, you're getting cataracts, or your glasses are dirty because you just can't see things in the distance you're used to seeing. Then you realize that you have the taste of dirt in your mouth and you know it's a dust day. By the way, Baghdad has a taste. I doubt I'll ever forget it. (Though I must admit, the smell of Baghdad on the bad smog days is worse.)
Obviously, once the dust goes up, it comes down. It isn't like your typical "I haven't dusted the room in a while so there's dust on the top edge of all the artwork" type of dust (and Ann can tell you, while I may be the domestic type, Dan doesn't dust), it's a loose "I've been sanding some woodwork with the finest grit sandpaper" or "we're doing drywall finishing" kind of nasty dust. Look at these photos - it gets into all the nooks and crannies as you drive around and it builds up on the inside - yes, I said, inside - of the closet kind of dust. The photo on the right is of the inside of my closet (and yes, that is an empty laundry basket there - I did laundry yesterday - I told you I've got domestic skills) and I swear the dust was not there a week ago. I won't even go into what it's like when you blow your nose.
So to finish off the dust forecast, I'll show you how the dust got cleared from the air back in October. Rain, but not just any kind of rain, Dust rain. How do you know it's rained in Baghdad (well, at least so far - I've been assured it will rain and make everything turn to mud)? The air is clear and a bit moist, and the ground looks like someone ran a light sprinkle of water over it. It rained a bit in October, but take a close look at the photograph below. It appears that each rain drop was equal parts water and dust, because you can see the normal dust film below the streaks.
So today's forecast? Dust with a chance of Dust Showers.