Haboob of Eastern Washington, almost always leading to an impact with the city of Spokane. If the storms are strong enough, they can reach as far east as Post Falls and Moscow, in North Idaho. Global dust storms on Mars have been compared to haboobs on Earth. Haboob A haboob () is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current, also known as a weather front. Haboobs occur regularly in dry land area regions throughout the world. During thunderstorm formation, winds move in a direction opposite to the storm's travel, and they move from all directions into
Desert Desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions where little precipitation occurs and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location.