A Sandstorm is an event which occurs randomly in the Desert when wind speed is above 30 mph. During this event, a few enemies often found in the Underground Desert appear on the surface, as well as Angry Tumblers and, in Hardmode, Sand Elementals and Sand Sharks.
How long does it take for a sandstorm to occur?
A Sandstorm has a 1/84600 chance of occurring per tick. Since 1 tick = 1/60th of a second = 60 ticks per second = 3600 ticks per minute, and 84600/3600 = 23.5 minutes, so in theory, once the 30 mph conditions are met, there is a good chance of a sandstorm occurring within 1 in-game day – providing that the conditions stay constant during that time.
One common answer is, for the best chance for a Sandstorm to occur it needs to be Raining (18.2% chance per day – 24 minute duration), Night time (7.30 pm – 4.30 am in game – 9 minute duration) and for it to be a Windy Day (starts at 20 mph of wind). During a Sandstorm, the background will turn a dusty yellow and a vignette will be applied to the player’s screen.
This means that a Sandstorm lasts from 28800 to 86400 ticks, or 8 to 24 minutes real-time. Sandstorms are one of the few events that do not restrict other enemy spawns. The player will squint their eyes while they are in the Sandstorm. Since the Sandstorm only occurs in the surface layer of the desert, the player can fly over it.
How do you get a sandstorm?
Once a day, similar to a Solar Eclipse, you will have a chance of getting a Sandstorm in your desert. Not very high to my knowledge, you just got to be lucky. It lasts the whole day, but it doesn’t pop up any message in chat like the Eclipse does. Honestly, it is basically a Blizzard from the snow biome, but harder.
What is the sandstorm event?
The Sandstorm is similar to the Blizzard event in that it reduces visibility and spawns new enemies, though unlike the Blizzard (and some real life sandstorms), it is not tied to rain in any way. It is also similar in that it happens simultaneously with another event – in this case, the Windy Day.