Whipped-up dust turned rain into mini-mudballs. How an epic sandstorm in 2003 paralyzed troops as war began.

U.S. infantry wait out the sandstorm on March 25, 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom (Second Gulf War).Associated Press

March 25, 2003. The United States is slowly advancing toward the city of Baghdad on the fifth day of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Forecasters knew a sandstorm was likely, with an area of low pressure forming over Egypt and set to pass northeast over Iraq, where more than 150,000 coalition troops were positioned. What they didn’t expect was just how intense this sandstorm was about to become.

These types of storms are not uncommon in the Middle East, and are known as either a “turab” (winds blowing out of the south) or a “shamal” (winds out of the north); both terms signal a dust storm.

Atmospheric setup that day

With Baghdad centered in the middle of Iraq along the Tigris River with a massive desert to the south, heat and dust are the norm. The Mediterranean Sea sitting just to the west, of course, provides the necessary moisture to fuel storms.

Twenty-three years ago, on March 25, the atmosphere was juiced with instability, with strong upper-level winds amplifying the typical lift of hot desert air, which is key to lifting dust into the atmosphere. This storm turned into a well-organized low-pressure system, with the core of the storm and strongest part of the system, passing directly over Baghdad.

You can see the swirl of a storm in the right image below.

Satellite imagery of the dust storm pushing over Iraq on March 25-26, 2003, as the Iraq War was getting underway.NOAA

The strong pressure gradient from the storm whipped up maximum wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph across Baghdad and the immediate area where the invasion was positioned.

The central area of low pressure (blue isobars) passed directly over Baghdad on March 25, 2003.NOAA

Military impacts from the sandstorm

This intense sandstorm was a nightmare for military operations. Visibility dropped abruptly while the infantry troops were advancing, with dust collecting everywhere and getting into everything, and I mean everything.

Grit jammed or impeded every weapon, small and large. There are even a handful of reports that switchblade knives in pockets struggled to open in the sandstorm. Then, when the rain fell, raindrops merged with dust and sand particles on the way to the surface, turning rain into mini-mudballs falling from the sky. Between the dust, the wind, and the muddy rain, ground troops were deemed useless after several efforts to advance during lulls in the storm.

The U.S. infantry waits out the sandstorm on March 25, 2003, just as the Iraq War was starting.Associated Press

With ground troops immobilized, the U.S. military realized that the Air Force could fly above the sandstorm and attack enemy forces that were also stuck in place for nearly 24 hours. Planes were able to deliver precise bombs impervious to the sand and zero-visibility conditions during the three-day storm, completely taking advantage of the unfavorable weather.

Weather plays a role in nearly everything, especially during war. Check out how the weather forecasts were critical on D-Day, the Invasion of Normandy.

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