Pictures: Huge Dust Storm Swallows Phoenix

Hovering Dust

Photograph by Matt York, AP

Yesterday's huge dust storm, or haboob, yellows the skies over Queen Creek, Arizona.

The giant walls of dust form in conjunction with thunderstorms. Warm air flowing over the storm clouds becomes cooler and heavier as it interacts with moisture. The heavier air is forced downward and then gets pushed by the front of the thunderstorm cell, dragging dust and debris along with it.

In the recent Arizona storm, the fine dust particles were blown off agricultural fields as storms moved across the region. (Related picture: "Severe Sandstorm Blasts China [2006].")

Published August 19, 2011

Haboob in the City

Photograph by Joshua Lott, Reuters

Dust engulfs highrise buildings in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, during the August 18 haboob. The huge storm reached the city around 6 p.m. local time.

The August dust storm, the third to hit the Phoenix area since July 5, knocked over trees and power poles, caused vehicle accidents and road closures, and delayed flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (See a picture of the July 5 haboob, the largest of the three Phoenix dust storms.)

Published August 19, 2011

Dusty Roads

Photograph by Chris Havlik, AP

Traffic rolls through an intersection in Phoenix, Arizona, as a dust storm looms on August 18.

According to the Arizona Republic, the Pinal County sheriff's office received several reports of power poles falling on moving vehicles—including a school bus—during the storm, although no major injuries were reported. (Related: "Bigger Cities Causing Stronger Summer Storms, Experts Say.")

Published August 19, 2011

Deep in Dust

Photograph by Joshua Lott, Reuters

A pedestrian dashes across Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, during the August 18 dust storm.

Although the storm dissipated Thursday night, it left hundreds of residents without power and coated the region in a fine layer of dust that now needs to be swept away.

Dust from such storms "will end up in your pool, on your car, it will coat your windows. It's a sediment deposit that covers everything," Valerie Meyers, of the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told the Los Angeles Times.

Published August 19, 2011

Hazy Summer

Photograph by Joshua Lott, Reuters

A person walks along Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona, during the August 18 dust storm.

Being in a dust storm like this feels "like being sandblasted," Meyers told the LA Times. The fine particles in the air can also pose problems for people with allergies and asthma.

Experts recommend that anyone caught in a haboob seek shelter, and that drivers pull to the side of the road to wait out the storm.

(Also see "Mars Warming Due to Dust Storms, Study Finds.")

Published August 19, 2011