By Tom Westcott.
Tripoli, 6 April 2013:
A severe ghibli, the hot, sand-bearing wind blowing in from the Sahara, hit Benghazi today, Saturday, . . .[restrict]grounding air traffic and leaving passengers stranded.
Although the ghibli is commonplace at this time of year in Libya, a local said he could not ever remember one this bad. Benghazi has suffered from poor weather for the last week with three particularly bad days. Today, however, was the worst.
One visitor to Benghazi told the Libya Herald that the sand was almost like fog, with visibility reduced to about 30 foot.
Today’s ghibli did have one advantage, with residents driving noticeably more slowly and carefully.
The skies have cleared this evening and the forecast for tomorrow is good. [/restrict]