How long do sandstorms normally last?

[Anonymous]

this ones been going on around 4 hours and I been sitting there waiting for it.

[Agent_137]

they vary. 4 hours is on the long side, in my experience.

[Angela Christine]

It depends on your location, some locations have nearly constant sandstorms.  

The good news is that right after a reboot there are usually a few hours of light winds, so you can plan outings for saturday night and count on clear weather.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Stuck now.Cant see where I am and cant camp.

[Anonymous]

Day 4 of sandstorm.Will it ever let up or will I be wandering in this sandstorm for 4 more days getting unhappy. :?:

[Bestatte]

Bear in mind that often, storms that occur during the day that are so bad you can't even see the room you're in, are either short-lived, or don't extend very far in the location.

Sometimes they're just a single room - a whirlwind that gets stuck in one spot for a little while. Sometimes they'll stretch through a broad area. But regardless, you can always get out of it if you wander long enough, and that usually isn't really all -that- long.

[sacac]

some can last for days on end (Rl time here) Or so I believe.

[Anonymous]

Yep.This one looks like its gonna go on rest of day. :?

[Delirium]

I remember once, I hit a sandstorm that was so bad I couldn't see. So I hunkered down with my character, having her desperately cover herself as best as she could.. eventually running low on water, down to the last bit in her skin.. finally she's desperate enough to move anyway despite the fact that she can't see a thing.

So I go one room south.. and the air is absolutely, perfectly clear.

D'OH!

It kinda makes sense though, if you've seen movies with sandstorms (I'm thinking that one ... er.. Scorpion King, I think).. they've basically got a stormwall.. where you can ride out of it very abruptly, but once you're in it, you're pretty screwed unless you know which direction to go.

[Anonymous]

Lol me and friend just went looking for a clear and it almost resulted in death.Sneak attacks suck.

[Angela Christine]

There may some helpfull helpfiles.

WEATHER                                                              The two weather concerns of Zalanthans are the wind and the blowing sand which the wind drives. The wind can sometimes reach up to 90 miles per hour (roughly 150 km/h in real life), building into enormous gales across the flat wastes. When high winds pass over areas such as the Red Desert or the Sea of Eternal Dust, they invariably pick up huge amounts of gritty sand which they carry as mighty storms across the world.
  The greater the wind velocity, the greater the chance will be of
sandstorms developing. Sandstorms cut down on visibility and can tire even the hardiest traveler in seconds. During the harshest storms one cannot even see one's hand in front of one's face.
  The wind itself can blow hot winds from the Salt Flats across the world, raising the temperatures in cities such as Allanak to well above 140 degrees (Fahrenheit, which is roughly 60 degrees Celsius).
  Two things may help against these forces of nature: one, that the weather is almost always worse downwind than upwind, and second that the worst conditions can always be found on the lee side of places such as the Red Desert. Careful attention to the winds and weather will assist travelers greatly.

Geography                          

  The world of Zalanthas is a vast planet which evidence suggest was once widely explored, some time in the distant past. However, since the time of the Empire of Man, and possibly for many Ages before, the expanse of Zalanthas which has been known to demihumans has been called the Known World. While enormous in its own right, the Known World probably consists of no more than a small fraction of the total size of the world.
  The Known World lies on the northern shore of a massive basin called the Sea of Eternal Dust (q.v.) and extends northward to the reaches of the Grey Forest (q.v.). Its eastern boundary is the Great Salt Flats (q.v.), and on the west lies a giant unnamed canyon. No known history records lands
outside of these boundaries, or whether there might even be hospitable conditions for life in those outer reaches. The only being who is sure to have existed beyond the Known World is the Dragon itself.
  Within the Known World are a large variety of landscapes. A massive rock formation called the Shield Wall trisects the realm into three relatively equal portions: the Southlands, the Tablelands, and the Scrub Plain (now often considered as part of the Northlands).
  The Southlands consist of several large deserts and the actual shore of the Sea of Eternal Dust. Only a few of the deserts have been named over the
ages. The North Road runs through the Southlands, as does the Road of Red Silt.
  The Tablelands are a large realm of bone-dry deserts, winding canyons, stony barrens, and giant mesas. Despite the terrible conditions, the Tablelands do support several (mostly nomadic) cultures. A number of old
and broken roads pass through this land.
  The Scrub Plain (now often considered part of the Northlands) holds the largest percentage of plant life in the Known World, bearing rolling stretches of a short brown scrub and even occasional clumps of greener
foliage. The North Road passes through this region, as do several smaller trails.
  The Grey Forest belongs to none of these three divisions, lying far
north of the Shield Wall's long arms.

See also:
  Armageddon, Gol Krathu, Grey Forest, Known World, Red Desert,
  Salt Flats, Scrub Plains, Sea of Eternal Dust, Shield Wall, Tablelands, Vrun Driath, Zalanthas

How does this help?

If you walk into the wind you are more likely to find clear air than if walk with the wind, generally speaking.

Take into account your location (if you can remember it) and the adjacent terrain.  Some locations are more likely to be stormy than other locations, the geography helpfiles may help a little here.  Likewise some locations have dangers other than storms.  For an obvious example: if you were lost in a storm near Red Storm, you probably would not want to try to escape a blinding storm by going south (regardless of which way the wind was blowing) because you could walk into the Sea of Silt without realizing it.

Or just sit tight until tomorrow morning, and hope the mud closes before you die.  


AC

[Anonymous]

ya.....get eaten by a rabid kankosauraus or a jolly green turtle.

[Oxidised Lizard]

Delirium, you've only been in one sandstorm where you couldn't see?   :shock: They're common...    

[Cenghiz]

Whira's Anger, all I would say... 4 hours is really too short for a good sandstorm.

[Delirium]

I was just stating an example of one encounter with them. ;)

[Angela Christine]

I assume that the storm is more or less continuous, and has been going on for the last thousand years or more since the Dragon destroyed the climate.  The lulls in the storm when the wind is quiet and the sky is clear are the anomolies, not the stormy days.  It is always windy, and there is a lot of light "ash like" dust around, so there is pretty much always dust being blown around.  Stronger winds can pick up biting sand as well, and the worst storms leave you blind for all practical purposes.  Blinding storms and completely calm days seem equally uncommon.  Geography also plays a major role, some locations almost never get blinding storms, while other locations get blinding storms several times per OOC week.

Places like Chicago and Lethbridge Alberta are windy most of the time, and so is most of the Known world.

AC