Sandstorm reaches cities in São Paulo state

Residents of Ribeirão Preto, northern São Paulo state, on Sunday (Sep. 26) witnessed a rare natural phenomenon: a sandstorm.

The phenomenon was also reported in the cities of Franca, Jales, Presidente Prudente, and Araçatuba, in São Paulo, as well as cities in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais.

According to meteorologist Andrea Ramos from Inmet, Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, the weather in previous days, which was dry and hot, helped cause the incident.

“We had seen really hot and dry days, which favored the gushes of wind—which reached 92 km/h as per the local airport of Ribeirão Preto. The winds helped bring the dust up from the soil, the heat wave increased the temperature, as humidity rates were below 20 percent. All these factors contributed to the phenomenon,” Ramos explained.

“There was also rain. As the sandstorm was passing by, a number of locations reported raining, in São Paulo as well as in Minas Gerais,” she added.

The meteorologist declared the phenomenon is not expected to take place again in the coming days. “For the next few days, we’re expecting rain, especially in October, usually seen as a rainy month. We won’t have the conditions favoring such a phenomenon again,” she stressed.

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