The Khamsin

A Khamsin is a hot desert wind that blows in this region at this time of year. "Khamsin" is the Arabic word for fifty, denoting the fifty day window during which these winds usually blow. Well, one came through about an hour ago. The wind kicked up, the sky darkened, the temperature rose to over 40 degrees C and everything went crazy. As I watched out of the living room window, a large branch came crashing down from a tree over the road, and not long afterwards I heard an equally loud crash from further down the street.

I went out after the wind dropped to find the garden covered in leaves and twigs, and a small tree uprooted along the wall behind the house. I then wandered out into the street to find this:


And this:


This one had grazed our neighbour's car as it came down, which will need some minor surgery.

Let's hope it's the last Khamsin for this year - we've had three or four already and I'm ready for them to stop.