Holy Haboob!

What on earth is a haboob, you ask? Well, let's ask the world expert on anything and everything. Wikipedia says:

"A haboob (Arabic هبوب) is a type of intense sandstorm commonly observed in arid regions throughout the world. They have been observed in the Sahara desert (typically Sudan), as well as across the Arabian Peninsula, throughout Kuwait, and in the most arid regions of Iraq."

Sahara desert, Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait, Iraq, Phoenix, AZ....

Yesterday evening the ENTIRE valley was eaten alive by a giant haboob. Seriously. I had family in town that was visiting more family in Mesa (east valley) and they were stuck there for hours while a rolling blackout of dust completely consumed everything. Zero visibility, trucks being blown over, and according to 12 News in Phoenix, over 700 calls to emergency dispatch from 5PM to 7PM last night, and Phoenix Fire Department responded to over 300 incidents in the same time period. THANK GOODNESS we were all somewhere and not on the freeway because that was absolutely the most dangerous place to be. And it took FOREVER to pass over and the weatherman was saying they're thinking it was 50 miles wide at some points.

Here are a few shots from different areas around the valley that I got from the 12 News facebook page:

I had just got home from work and was unloading my teaching supplies, talked to my mom and there was nothing unusual going on. Got inside with Miss Viesa and about an hour later they called and had no power and they couldn't go outside. I didn't get to see it roll into downtown because it was already dark and I was inside my house by the time it was getting bad. Here's a video taken by a valley photographer of it eating downtown:


The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.

Again, thankfully we were all safe and didn't suffer any real damage on this side of town. I went outside this morning to look around and found that we may need a car wash.

And that was our CRAZY night. Can't wait to see what else this monsoon has to throw at us. Sheesh.

XO,
Ash & Vies