A spectacular satellite view of the dust storm that hit portions of Oman yesterday. High winds coming off the deserts of southern Iran associated with a cold front are what causes this kind of event. The first image shows the front just north of Muscat City, the second a few hours later shows coastal Oman enveloped in dust, then the third image from today (March 8) shows a cyclonic pattern to the cloud of dust (click image for full-size):