During times of drought or in arid regions, great amounts of dust can be transported in the atmosphere. Dust storms can arise from several conditions, but often accompany thunderstorm outflow boundaries or strong synoptic frontal passages. This may or may not appear on radar—it depends on how close the dust is to the radar location and how high it rises. Thus, situational awareness regarding hydrologic and soil conditions is necessary.

Some common characteristics of dust storms on radar include the following:

• Often associated with outflow boundaries and very strong synoptic fronts
• Can appear as a radar fine line that develops significant clutter behind it
• Generally low reflectivity values compared to precipitation
• Large dust particles will not rise as high as smaller ones, so reflectivity values within the dusty area will be highest near the surface