Abstract Dust storms, or haboobs, can have a significant effect on military operations in arid regions. Not only does dust cause maintenance problems and slow offensive ground operations, but it can also substantially disrupt air operations. This paper presents a historic vignette of how a dust storm contributed to the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, the mission undertaken to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980. The flight crews that were involved in that mission encountered a dust storm that was likely generated by thunderstorm activity in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Weather forecasters were aware that dust storms were a possibility in the region, but they did not forecast haboobs. The pilots were expecting clear weather and had no contingency plans to cope with the adverse weather conditions. The dust storm caused confusion, slowed the helicopters, and greatly increased pilot fatigue. These factors appeared to have contributed to mission failure, and, as a result, the U.S. military later implemented many improvements in mission planning, pilot training, and weather forecasting techniques to manage the risk associated with operations in areas where dust storms are likely.

Data from airborne air-sensing probes reveal wave structures in the planetary boundary layer of the atmosphere in the wind corridor of south-central Wyoming. The airflow, which is nearly laminar throughout much of the region, responds in a series of resonant lee waves when it encounters topographic obstacles. Gravity waves and turbulent mixing are associated with a downward transport of vertical momentum and occur in the region of accelerated windflow in the central Wyoming wind corridor. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves are prevalent in the area of hydraulic jump at Windy Gap. Understanding of such waves and their controls is essential to siting of wind-energy systems in high-wind regions like the Wyoming wind corridor and in interpreting the mechanisms for development and migration of eolian landforms.

An interpretation of eolian features for part of the southern high plains demonstrates the use of remote sensing as an inexpensive and easily applicable tool for identifying long-term wind patterns in regions of moderate relief. Eolian features useful in such an interpretation are sand dunes, blowouts, dust plumes, clay dunes, and wind-formed playas. Although the relief is low to moderate in this area of the high plains, topographic channeling is the most important factor in determining high wind-energy areas. The multidirectional wind regime of the southern high plains has produced a unique set of eolian features. Migration of parabolic dunes in the Mescalero dune field shows several directions of movement. The Monahans-Kermit dunes are also a result of conflicting winds from several directions. They show no discernable migration direction, are partially stabilized, and have a complex dune morphology. Under this multidirectional wind regime, playas are oriented normal to the winter winds that occur during the season when the playas are dry. This orientation is interpreted as a result of progradation of clay dunes toward the playa. Interpretation of eolian features detectable on LANDSAT imagery provided the information for regional assessment of windflow patterns in the southern high plains. A map was compiled summarizing the interpretations. Recorded wind data were correlated with the interpretation and are summarized for reference.