Dust storm
Also called sandstorm, duststorm, haboob, blowing dust
Station model. What an observer recorded, not a weather-app forecast.
Present weather and station modelsDust storm meaning
A dust-storm mark means a dust storm or sandstorm is the condition being reported or forecast under that name. WWIS lists duststorm and sandstorm apart from dust.
At a glance
- System
- Forecast label and present weather
- Used for
- A dust storm or sandstorm
- Not the same as
- Dust, haze, or fog
Dust storm or sandstorm as weather that is happening. Not the milder dust forecast, and not haze.
The name. WWIS lists duststorm and sandstorm apart from dust. On a plot, blowing dust is present weather, not a forecast swirl.
Where it comes from
The WWIS icon table includes sandstorm, duststorm, sand, and dust as separate labels, so a forecast can already tell a storm from dust in the air. This page sits on the observation line because a station plot records blowing dust or a sandstorm as present weather when the restriction is occurring, using the observing codes rather than a phone icon. The drawing is a reading aid for a wall of dust. It is not a traced agency logo, and it is not a numbered glyph from table 4677.
The line drawing is original to this cabinet. It is not an agency logo, a vendor icon, or the emoji for the same idea.
Weather
What it means
Visibility is collapsing because of mineral dust or sand, not because of water fog and not because of smoke. The dust page is the milder forecast label. Haze is the broader particle veil. A storm label, or a present-weather report of one, is the severe end.
Questions
What is the difference between dust and a dust storm?
WWIS gives them different labels. Dust names dust in the air. Duststorm and sandstorm name the storm. A station reports the storm as present weather when it is happening.
Is a sandstorm a kind of haze?
No. Haze has its own label. A sandstorm is a dust-storm report or forecast, and visibility is the number that says how bad the view is.
Near this
- DustA forecast icon for dust in the air. Not haze, and not a dust storm at the station.
- HazeA forecast icon for haze. Not fog, not mist, and not smoke.
- VisibilityThe reported seeing distance at the station. A number, not a forecast fog icon.
- Present weatherThe sign plotted beside a station when weather is occurring. Not a forecast icon, and not all one hundred codes.
Sources
- World Weather Information Service, weather icons
- WWIS weather icon table
- Weather Prediction Center, station plot
- Weather Prediction Center, surface weather symbols
Named when the entry depends on a text, a date, or a standard. Catalog numbers are not invented.
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symbol.wiki, edited as Sigilla. Last reviewed 18 October 2026. A reading of public tradition, not a ruling.