The expansive dust storm, referred to as a haboob, engulfed the Phoenix area on Monday, resulting in power outages, flight suspensions, and impaired drivers’ visibility.

Although dust storms frequently occur in Arizona’s monsoon season, they often strike abruptly. The dust wall on Monday came ahead of rainfall in the late afternoon and early hours of the evening.

A National Weather Service dust storm warning was in effect for the Valley until 5:45 p.m. local time. 

“Be ready for a sudden drop to zero visibility,” the alert, shared by FOX 10 Phoenix’s Nicole Krasean on X said. “Pull aside, stay alive!”

“I was nervous,” she said. “My kids were really, really scared, so I was trying to be brave for them.”

As the storm passed, flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport faced temporary grounding, and terminal roof damage was reported.

“Crews have been assessing water leakage and undertaking clean-up where water has accumulated in passenger zones,” stated Heather Shelbrack, the airport’s deputy aviation director for public relations, to the AP.

More than 15,000 people lost power, most in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, according to PowerOutage.us.

A view of the Phoenix, Arizona skyline at sunset. (Lightvision, LLC)

Phoenix has been drier than usual during the monsoon season, while parts of southeast and north-central Arizona have had a fair amount of rain, Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told the AP.

“But that’s typical for a monsoon, very hit and miss,” he said.

The forecast for metro Phoenix calls for a 40% chance of rain on Tuesday before drying out, O’Malley said.

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