It was a sandstorm, not a dust storm, because the color of the sky was brown, not gray.
The sky will turn brown or red-ish(depending on type of soil in the area) in a dust storm too..
The difference between the two isnt the color! its about whats in the location and the particle size kicked up by the wind.
A sandstorm is sand -larger particles kicked up, where a dust-storm is actually dirt/soil(rather than 'dust', it could truly be called a 'dirt-storm') -smaller/fine particles kicked up.
does it not hurt to breathe in sandstorms?
Either one (sand or dust) can be bad or even dangerous to breathe in.
Yeah driving in either one would probably be a complete nightmare. Especially if there's an embedded severe thunderstorm in it.
Driving in one is not something you want to do...
If you get caught in one what you want to do is not drive, but pull completely off the highway(if its one where you can), turn off your lights (including blinkers), and turn off your car too(that dust/sand can damage the engine! (same and to an even worse extent for a plane - don't fly through one))
Infact when they issue a dust-storm warning (part of the actual text from one below (this from Wyoming - wording will vary some by location, but basic message is the same)), it specifically says to avoid them or pull off the road.:
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Dust storms lead to dangerous driving conditions with visibility
reduced to near zero. If driving, avoid dust storms if possible. If
caught in one, pull off the road, turn off your lights and keep your
foot off the brake.
Motorists should not drive into a dust storm. PULL ASIDE STAY ALIVE!
There is no safe place on a highway when a dust storm hits.
Visibility can be lost immediately, making it difficult or impossible
to slow down and avoid stopped vehicles. Delay travel, or safely exit
the highway before the dust storm arrives.
As for thunderstorm in one...that in many cases is the cause of dust-storms in Arizona, strong outflow winds ahead of the storm - or for the big ones, line of storms like a QLCS - kicks up a huge cloud of dirt.
(this typically happens with the arrival of 'monsoon season' there - you have all that dry desert land thats been baking in the summer heat, then when the first round of monsoon storms hit, the outflow winds ahead of them sets it off. Then after that first round its much less likely to have dust storms ahead of thunderstorms/QLCS in the following weeks of the monsoon season)
Oh and note: you can also have a 'snirt-storm'(yep thats an actual term .lol. (meaning snow+dirt)) Thats where a snowstorm has picked up the sand/dirt/dust from a dust-storm, and when it comes down, you get dirty snow(it is kinda brown-ish in color)
