The winds swirl dust into the air, choking out the sun. The winds can only lift the sand five to six feet off the surface, shifting it across the desert surface in heavy sheets. Stones are polished to a luster by the sand blast. The sand stings your face, fills your ears and blinds your eyes. You need a scarf to cover your nose and mouth so that you can breath easier.
Sand gets into everything.
In the spring winds called khamsins blow from the south. The name comes from the Arabic word for fifty, which is how many days that it is believed that these winds last. The winds bring hot air and lifts the dust off of the dunes that had been deposited by the northerly winds. The dust towers into tall columns which eventually dump dust everywhere.