[hahr-muh-tan] 
| (on the west coast of Africa) a dry, parching land breeze, charged with dust. |
| har·mat·tan (här'mə-tān', här-māt'n) n. A dry dusty wind that blows along the northwest coast of Africa. [Akan (Twi) haramata, possibly from Arabic ḥarām, evil thing, from ḥarama, to prohibit; see ḥrm in Semitic roots.] |
harmattan
hot, dry wind that blows from the northeast or east in the western Sahara and is strongest in late fall and winter (late November to mid-March). It usually carries large amounts of dust, which it transports hundreds of kilometres out over the Atlantic Ocean; the dust often interferes with aircraft operations and settles on the decks of ships.
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