Simoom

Location: Sahara and Arabian Desert. Also known as: Simoun or Simoon.

This is a very hot, dry, suffocating and dust-laden wind that blasts across the African deserts, notably in Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains. It can form into whirlwinds although this is most likely a secondary result of the low-level thermic heating rather than just the wind itself. It is one of the briefest winds and lasts only 20 minutes but can carry mounds of dust and sand that it has scooped from the desert floor. This is one of the winds that reshapes the desert and the sand dunes across the late Spring and the Summer.

It�s name comes from the Arabic samma for Poison. It appears to have similar charateristics to the Samiel.