Haboob (dust storm) heads north just west of the Salton Sea

I went storm chasing with another photographer. Though we didn't see much lighting, we were treated to an epic sunset.

Just above the horizon here, a haboob (dust storm) can be seen heading north. Though we received only a few drops of rain here, we left before the storm advanced much further. Most of the route to drive to-from here is via a wash and also clay which gets very deep, soft, and sticky when wet.

This was shot at what remains of the Salton Sea Naval Test Station.

The Salton Sea Naval Station was an auxiliary field to NAS San Diego commissioned in 1942, had a barracks for over 600 men constructed there. It was disestablished in 1946. NAF El Centro then took over the facility using it for parachute tests of the manned space program and other military systems until 1979. There remains little if anything of the former field. The Salton Sea has taken over much of the runway.

In 2001 the United States Bureau of Reclamation used the site to remove salt from the Salton Sea, as high salinity is a major problem facing the inland lake. They used modified snowmaking equipment and mine waste removal vehicles and continued testing for a year; however high energy costs and air quality issues forced the termination of this project.

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