The “haboob” that’s enveloped Phoenix, Arizona late is a dust storm of epic proportion: The Tuesday, July 5, sand storm literally enveloped the city as the state was hit by a monsoon—with intensity that hasn’t been seen by even longtime residents in Phoenix area or the state in the past half of a century.
The sandstorm, also known as a haboob, was produced by the downdrafts of a collapsing thunderstorm complex generated by the Southwest monsoon. When downdrafts of rapidly descending air smashed desert ground, vast amounts of sand and dust were kicked up – and sent subsequently carried forth by the storm outflow. Haboobs aren’t unheard of but Arizona’s July experience ranked as an incredibly hard-hitting dust storm that was unique, intense and reached incredible heights after thunderstorms literally pushed rain-cooled air to the ground with force and winds related to the storms slammed into the desert sand – creating a massive, swirling sand storm.
While Haboobs occur several times per year in desert areas like Arizona, this particular dust storm was very unique in its power and spread -- storm chasers capturing video footage that’s on par with a Hollywood reel, in a storm that saw residents scrambling for cover and drivers trying to beat the haboob home. Even Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport was forced to close for nearly an hour with visibility cut to less than one-eight of a mile and winds that hit over 50 miles per hour.
Experts believe a thunderstorm complex combined with extreme drought conditions in the area is to blame. While the airport region got just 0.04” of rain from the storm, southern Arizona regions were slammed by up to two inches of rain –simply overnight -- from the monsoon thunderstorms.