'Mad Max'-like dust storm envelops Brazilian city in cloud of doom

[Judi Lynn]

By Mindy Weisberger 21 minutes ago

Unusually hot and dry conditions fueled the dust cloud.

A towering wave of orange dust filled the horizon and whooshed over a neighborhood in a recent video of a rare sandstorm in northwestern São Paulo, Brazil.

As the choking cloud rushed past the camera, it transformed the city skyline into a scene that would have looked right at home in the arid wasteland of the post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" movies.

On Sunday (Sept. 26), residents of several cities in the state of São Paulo experienced the unusual storm. Footage of the event was captured in four Brazilian municipalities on multiple cameras belonging to Clima au Vivo (CV), a private company that uses live camera feeds to monitor and record weather for local news agencies, according to the company website.

In an edited video, uploaded to YouTube that day, dense clouds of dust extend up into the sky and envelop parts of Barretos, Morro Agudo, Bebedouro and Viradouro. Residents of the cities Ribeirão Preto, Araçatuba, Jales, Franca and Presidente Prudente in the state of São Paulo also witnessed the terrifying power of the light-swallowing sandstorm, according to Agência Brasil, the national public news agency. Cities in a neighboring state, Minas Gerais, were enveloped by dust as well, agency officials said in a statement.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/massive-dust-storm-brazil

Also posted in Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122878220

[brush]

1. That happens in Phoenix sometimes. There's a name for those huge, engulfing storms. Haboobs.