Someday this will all be lost under the sand

The view out my window on a normal day.


Today the wind picked up in a big way. We're having a real sandstorm. It's blowing so hard you almost can't walk against it. The weather reporters are predicting rain too. There have only been 2 days of rain since I arrived here last May.

When I was outside, walking back to my apartment and the wind was howling, I could smell water in the air. But so far there's been no rain. If it does start to rain I wonder if it's going to rain mud. That would be the kind of miserably suitable weather I'd expect in this God forsaken sand pit in the middle of the barren desert.

Here's the same view as above, but taken just a few minutes ago.



Another view down the street. The worst of the sandstorm is already past.



And another view.



Here's a 1 minute video of the rain. It finally arrived.


Welcome to Riyadh!