This is the incredible moment a ‘dust devil’ on the E11 was captured on a car’s dashcam.
The phenomenon was seen on Sunday afternoon near Al Rahba heading in the direction of Abu Dhabi.
At first the driver of the vehicle thought there was a fire up ahead, but as traffic slowed to a near standstill the real cause was revealed.
Dust Devil in the UAE
Debris swirled across the carriageway forcing vehicles to slow to a crawl, amid very low visibility, before being able to continue on their journeys within seconds.
While some may compare dust devils to tornadoes, the shape of the vortex is the only thing the weather events really have in common.
Dust devils form under sunny conditions with a swirling updraft and very rarely reach anywhere near the intensity of a tornado.
It's not the first time this month UAE residents have borne witness to dust-fuelled weather phenomena, either. A week ago, a video was posted to Twitter showing what appeared to be a tornado in the middle of the desert near Dubai.
