A powerful sandstorm lashed north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Wednesday, moving from the west to the east of the region. Meteorologists at the Inner Mongolia Weather Bureau reported that satellite images showed the storm covering vast areas from Alexa League in the northwest to Chifeng City, Tongliao City, Hinggan League and Xilin Gol League in the east. In Xilin Gol League, visibility dropped to zero miles because of the density of sand particles in the air. The storm moved at 49 mph and temperatures plunged dramatically in most of the region. Although sandstorms occur seasonally in Mongolia as temperatures warm, causing dry, unplanted soil to be swept away easily, Wednesday's storm came weeks earlier than anticipated.
Mongolian sandstorms can be so fierce that they can reach the city of Beijing to the south.
Southern California was blasted on Monday by gale-force winds that swept through mountain passes, knocking out power to thousands of homes and causing clouds of swirling dust. Vehicles were forced to pull over to the sides of highways and wait until the dust clouds subsided. The windstorms were caused by the collision of two large weather systems from the Pacific Northwest and New Mexico. The powerful winds next hit California's Antelope Valley, knocking over power poles and disrupting traffic. Lower down, at some points in the Southern California mountains, there were gusts of 64 mph Monday afternoon.