Jw: I think you may be right about the weather in Iraq and how difficult it could be this time of year...fyi...
Intense sand, dust storms due in Iraq next week
50-mph wind gusts could limit troops
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Friday, March 21, 2003
A powerful storm system is likely to pummel military forces in and around Iraq with blinding sand and choking dust beginning Monday night, meteorologists predicted yesterday.
Next week's dust storm, the same weather system that blanketed Moscow with heavy snow yesterday, probably will be nearly twice as strong as the one that grounded helicopters and limited troop movements in Kuwait on Wednesday, private and government meteorologists said.
Winds are expected to exceed 50 mph in gusts in southern Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, said meteorologists at Accuweather.com, a commercial forecasting company. The dust storm Wednesday blew through at about 20 to 30 mph.
Potentially further hampering early military action, temperatures around Baghdad are predicted to climb unusually high Monday ahead of the storm front, reaching 90 degrees, weather experts said. Following the early taste of summer heat, the winds should peak Tuesday, meteorologists said.
In northern Iraq next week, the powerful front is likely to produce rain that will limit dust clouds. But the precipitation is not expected to reach the south, where troops are rolling into the country from Kuwait, so nothing will prevent gusts of 40 to 50 mph from scouring the earth and raising thick veils of dust.
In the region, storms this intense can limit visibility to less than 100 feet.
Some American troops can use heat-sensing gun sights that can detect targets even in fairly thick dust. Satellite-guided bombs are not hampered.
But even the most advanced attack helicopters are put at great risk by the heavy dust, military experts said.
For soldiers, the dust adds yet another dimension of discomfort. They already face warming temperatures and the constant threat of dangerous gases that will require them to wear gas masks and other protective gear.
The chances of powerful storms will ebb in the coming weeks, but temperatures probably will keep rising.
March in southern Iraq began with daily highs averaging about 69 degrees, but the daily high will be 75 by April and 110 by June, said Ken Reeves, a senior meteorologist at Accuweather. "If you have to endure that kind of heat in the biohazard suits they have to put on, it can get very difficult," he said.
Military officials said American forecasting efforts were aimed at exploiting bad conditions, given that they equally affect each side in a conflict.
"The U.S. military is without a doubt the best in the world at exploiting the environment and the weather to a tactical advantage," said Capt. Jeffrey Bacon, the commanding officer at the Naval Atlantic Meteorology and Oceanography Center in Norfolk, Va.
The Virginia center belongs to a network of forecasting centers run by the military. |
