Wind warning

There have been wind warnings off and on since we've arrived. The warnings cover the whole coachella valley and we don't always feel it here. But this one kept us awake wondering why airplanes were flying over in the middle of the night. Turns out that sound of a jet flying overhead was a wind coming down the valley and living up the reputation of this area being the fifth windiest place on earth. The palm trees stand strong with the fronds blowing sideways and loose ones flying off. I expect the cleanup crews will be dreading the aftermath. Sand is flying everywhere with drifts forming on the roads. We can smell it inside. 

We can only imagine what it would be like to be on the desert today - Lawrence of Arabia comes to mind but I suspect the locals think nothing of it.  

Our usual view

This morning