Weather stories

I was walking back from school like I would any other day when suddenly the wind picked up, I didn't think anything of it at first until I looked towards the horizon and instead of sky blue against flat golden brown, there was a swirl of dark brown heading straight for me and before I could register what it was, it was on top of me...a sandstorm from nowhere.

The sound was similar to a train rumbling past at high speed, it was deafening and grating against my skin till I was stinging. I rushed indoors and locked the door. I was almost afraid to look out the window but when I did I was surprised at the sight before me: instead or the dark murky brown I expected, it was a beautiful sight of swirling gold as the quartz in the sand was sparkling like diamonds - then it was gone completely. Eerily silent, I walked outside and looked around me and the sky was perfectly clear. The only sign of the incident I had witnessed was the 3 inches of sand on the ground and the odd sparkle in the air from sand yet to settle.

Submitted online by Nicola Hopewell , January 15, 2004