PHOENIX (AP) — On Monday, a strong storm created a massive dust wall that swept over the Phoenix metropolitan area. The storm obscured the sky, impaired drivers’ visibility, caused power outages, and disrupted flights at one of the busiest airports in the United States.
Bernae Boykin Hitesman was driving her 9 and 11-year-old children home from school when the storm, referred to as a haboob, hit Arizona City, located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix, in the late afternoon.
She had to quickly pull over as the storm engulfed her car. “I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside,” she said.
Boykin Hitesman said she could taste the dust and feel the strong wind rattling her car until it finally passed about 15 minutes later.
“I was nervous,” she said. “My kids were really, really scared, so I was trying to be brave for them.”
A haboob is a dust storm propelled by the wind from a weather front or thunderstorm, typically occurring in flat, dry regions. Following Monday’s haboob, heavy rain and wind caused flight delays at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and inflicted some damage to a terminal roof.
“Crews have been identifying leaks and attempting to clean up water where it has collected in passenger areas,” stated Heather Shelbrack, the airport’s deputy aviation director for public relations, in an email.
More than 15,000 people lost power, most in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, according to PowerOutage.us.
Richard Filley, a retired university professor residing in Gilbert, shared that the dust storm made trees sway and knocked down bird feeders. Fine dust infiltrated “every little crack and space” in his home, he remarked.
“I’m glad the windstorm part is over,” he noted. “Haboobs are a spectacular natural event when you see photos of them. They have a certain beauty to them.”
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, said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
“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 Tuesday before drying out, O’Malley said.
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Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Felicia Fonseca contributed reporting from Flagstaff, Arizona.
