dust storm

American  

[duhst stawrm] / ˈdʌst ˌstɔrm /

Or duststorm

noun

Meteorology.

1. an occurrence of strong winds permeating the air with fine particles of dust over an extensive area of normally arable land during a period of drought.

   It was a time of danger and despair on the prairie, with one dust storm after another.

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dust storm British  

noun

1. a windstorm that whips up clouds of dust

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Etymology

Origin of dust storm

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Then the bison all turned and regarded the four-wheel-drive road leading to a dust storm in the distance.

From Literature

The soil is packed with poisons, and massive dust storms obscure the sun for months.

From The Wall Street Journal

Electrical charging inside dust storms may also influence how dust moves across the planet.

From Science Daily

Iraq has long suffered from sand and dust storms, but in recent years they have become more frequent and intense as the country falls prey to the effects of climate change.

From Barron's

So, in 1934, as Depression-era dust storms darkened the skies over the Great Plains, worsened by overgrazing that denuded grasslands, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Taylor Grazing Act, named for the lawmaker.

From Salon

Related Words

• sandstorm