PHOENIX (BN24) — A massive wall of dust, known as a haboob, swept across metro Phoenix late Monday, darkening skies, halting traffic, knocking out power to thousands, and disrupting flights at one of the busiest airports in the United States.
The storm, fueled by powerful winds ahead of heavy rain, rolled into Arizona City about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix before engulfing the greater metro area. Drivers were forced to pull over as visibility dropped to near zero.
“I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside,” said Bernae Boykin Hitesman, who was driving home with her 9- and 11-year-old children when the dust storm overtook her vehicle. She said she could taste the grit in the air and felt her car rattle under the force of the winds. “I was nervous. My kids were really, really scared, so I was trying to be brave for them.”
The storm lasted about 15 minutes in some areas but left widespread impacts. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where more than 1,200 flights operate daily, heavy wind and rain following the dust storm caused delays and damage to a terminal roof. “Crews have been identifying leaks and attempting to clean up water where it has collected in passenger areas,” said Heather Shelbrack, the airport’s deputy aviation director for public relations.
According to PowerOutage.us, more than 15,000 residents across Arizona lost electricity, most of them in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and its suburbs.
Residents described both the beauty and the disruption of the storm. Richard Filley, a retired university professor in Gilbert, said fine dust seeped into his home, coating surfaces despite closed windows and doors. “The windstorm part of it, I’m glad it’s gone,” Filley said. “You look at the photos of haboobs and they are a spectacular natural phenomenon. They are kind of beautiful in their own way.”
The National Weather Service said Phoenix has experienced a drier-than-average monsoon season, with rainfall uneven across the state. “That’s typical for a monsoon, very hit and miss,” said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the NWS in Phoenix. He added that the forecast calls for a 40% chance of rain on Tuesday before conditions are expected to dry out.
Haboobs, which occur when thunderstorm outflows push walls of dust across flat, arid landscapes, are common in Arizona during the summer monsoon season. The storms can rise thousands of feet high and stretch for miles, often reducing visibility to near zero in a matter of minutes.
Despite their frequency, Monday’s storm was particularly disruptive because of its size and timing, sweeping through Phoenix just as many residents were driving home during the evening rush hour.
