source: http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/    CapitaReports/MTAEloadas/Anyag/DustStorms.htm

 Every year, the wind mobilizes 60 to 200 million tons of sand.   During the desert storms, the grains can be brutally lifted hundreds of feet into the air.

Source:Andreu Llamas, Plants of the Desert, Chelsea House Publishers, New York1996.