Phoenix Haboob!

I just happened to catch this. An incredibly impressive haboob that nailed Phoenix, Arizona on Monday! Click the title to see the VIDEO!

For those that don’t know, a Haboob is a term for an intense dust storm that is often very striking in appearance, as you can see from the above video. While these happen most often in desert climates (such as Arizona in the U.S.) they can happen in other areas as well, especially if most of the terrain is agriculture.

Here are some tips from the Arizona Department of Transportation in dealing with one of these events should you ever encounter one.

Quick Safety Tips:

Pull off the roadway
Stop
Turn off all vehicle lights
Set your emergency brake and take foot off the brake
Buckle up

Guidelines for Traveling in Dust Storms:

NEVER stop in the travel lane
Travel at a speed suitable for limited visibility
If you can’t pull off the road, turn your LIGHTS ON
Sound your horn intermittently
Use the painted lane striping to guide you
If possible, look for a safe place to PULL OFF THE ROAD

If you do pull off the road, observe the following safety tips:

Set your emergency brake
Take your foot off the brake pedal
Turn off all vehicle lights
Wait out the storm

When returning to the pavement, be aware that the road may be slippery and in some cases, pavement markings may be obscured by sand and dust blown on the road. Rain frequently accompanies dust storms and will cause slippery conditions.

Drive carefully.

Written by David on July 17th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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9 comments

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Steve Miller TX
#1. July 18th, 2007, at 12:11 AM.

[in my Beavis voice] he…hehe….you said “boob”.

That is an awesome sight to be sure. We get those around here sometimes don’t we?

David
#2. July 18th, 2007, at 1:52 AM.

Yes we do. One good outflow boundary after a dry period should produce a nice one actually.

Dewdrop
#3. July 18th, 2007, at 12:06 PM.

You know, I think I ran across something close to this in SD in June. I was literally blinded by the sand in that outflow boundary and the wind just about knocked me off my feet. Pretty spectacular! We get nothing like that in South Georgia.

David
#4. July 18th, 2007, at 12:18 PM.

Yeah, you can get these, even smaller versions of them quite often on the plains in the agricultural areas where it’s flat and little in the way of vegetation.

But you guys have something we sorely miss…..TREES!

Steve Miller TX
#5. July 18th, 2007, at 10:45 PM.

pffftt….trees schmees…they get in the way of viewing storms! LOL!

Steve Miller TX
#6. July 18th, 2007, at 10:54 PM.

btw, the most vicious haboob I’ve personally experienced was back in 1996 in the DFW metroplex. Winds were easily over 100mph (I think Addison airport reported a 100mpg gust). There was alot of damage across the area with some of it serious. One hotel in North Dallas had the entire north side with every window blown out.

I think this was probably a gustnado along the leading edge of it because severe damage like that was isolated and compact. I saw one in Lewisville that was as fierce as a tornado with debris swirling up into the air. Where it hit, it caused some serious damage in about a city block area. Think about it….if a gustnado spins 20-30 mph, then one side of it could have 120+mph winds localized.

It all happened so fast with the “gust front” moving 80-100mph. It was an incredible event that I’ll not forget.

The other one was in SD, Dew! It was back in 2005 and was incredible. It was moving at 70-80mph eastward. I could barely keep ahead of it on the interstate!

Dewdrop
#7. July 20th, 2007, at 10:38 AM.

I’ll take weather over these trees anyday!!! Trade ya!

David
#8. July 20th, 2007, at 11:31 AM.

I think the worst one I can think of last year was one that happened during that long dry spell last summer. We had a dry summer thunderstorm that put out a big downburst, ended up causing a huge multicar pileup with a fatality that shut down a big stretch of highway sw of Lubbock.

Mention from Riograndvalley.info
#9. April 23rd, 2008, at 7:08 PM.

Ted Williams: Ted Williams... How much do you make a year?...

Phoenix Haboob!

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