A massive dust storm, known as a haboob, swept through Phoenix on Monday evening, plunging the city into near-darkness, grounding flights, and cutting power to tens of thousands across the metropolitan area. The wall of dust was quickly followed by severe thunderstorms with winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour that ripped through the region.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix issued dust storm and severe thunderstorm warnings as the system pushed into Maricopa County. Officials warned drivers to avoid highways, including I-10 and I-17, where visibility was reduced to near zero and flooding was reported. The Arizona Department of Transportation urged motorists to "pull aside, stay alive."
At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the storm forced a ground stop lasting about an hour. By 9:30 p.m., more than 200 delays were reported, according to local station KPHO-TV. Airport spokesperson Gregory E. Roybal said wind gusts shredded a connector bridge, while Heather Shelbrack, the airport's deputy aviation director for public relations, said crews were "identifying leaks and attempting to clean up water where it has collected in passenger areas."
More than 60,000 customers across Arizona lost power, with the majority of outages concentrated in Maricopa County, according to PowerOutage.us. In Gilbert, traffic lights went dark and police reported widespread downed trees. In Chandler, a large tree toppled onto a house, damaging its roof.
Residents described harrowing experiences as the dust storm struck. "I couldn't see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside," said Bernae Boykin Hitesman, who was driving her children home in Arizona City, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix. "My kids were really, really scared, so I was trying to be brave for them."
Others spoke of the fine dust seeping into homes and damaging property. Richard Filley, a retired professor living in Gilbert, said the storm "knocked bird feeders to the ground" and filled his home with grit. "You look at the photos of haboobs and they are a spectacular natural phenomenon," he said. "They are kind of beautiful in their own way."
Dust storms are common during Arizona's monsoon season, when collapsing thunderstorms push winds outward, scooping up desert soil and creating massive walls of dust that can stretch for miles and climb thousands of feet high. The Phoenix area picked up just under a quarter inch of rain during Monday's storm, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Mark O'Malley said monsoon rainfall has been uneven, with Phoenix drier than usual while other parts of the state have seen heavier rain.
The haboob in Phoenix came just days after a dust storm swept through Nevada's Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, where winds up to 50 mph toppled tents and porta potties. Vendor Mike Chuda told KTVN, "The wind was in such a perfect angle that it was bending our booth forward. So that was pretty wild."
Forecasters said Phoenix faces a continued 40% chance of rain Tuesday before conditions begin to dry later in the week, though triple-digit heat is expected to return.
