Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Have You Seen My Haboob?

Arizona Monsoon 2011

Haboob--a thick dust storm or sandstorm that blows in the deserts of North Africa and Arabia or on the plains of India.

And Arizona apparently.

This was the Valley of the Sun last night around 7 pm. The news said the wall of dust was between 3000 and 4000 feet high, with winds up to 75 mph.  It lasted over 30 minutes then was followed by rain in some parts of the valley (not here).

The clip is time-lapsed, but I don't think it's been enhanced any other way.
You should see our pool/sandbox.

15 comments:

  1. What a hilarious name - it sure gets your attention - Ha Ha!

    That is crazy - kind of like a huge dust tornado. I bet it creates quite a mess.

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  2. wow. . .that must have been sort of scary seeing that much dust come out of nowhere!

    Good luck with the clean up!

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  3. Oh my goodness!!!!!
    That looks like a mess!

    My son says they had those all the time in Iraq and they had sand in EVERYTHING! ICK.

    I can't even imagine what your pool looks like....so I hope you take a few pictures of it. YUK! All that dusting.

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  4. I saw that on the news and it looked so scary. Knowing your "love" of sand, I suspect you are really enjoying the aftermath.

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  5. I went running during the haboob last night (and caught a couple raindrops) but it got so hard to breathe, couldn't go as far as I wanted to.

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  6. It looks horrific, without even mentioning the cleanup. I saw it on the news last night. What a mess! I've never seen anything like it. Happy digging out.

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  7. Yeah. Last night was not the best night to be all "Hey! I have to drive early, so I'll crack my windows so it won't be so hot..." BAD IDEA. VERY BAD IDEA.

    On the plus side, I know have a mobile sandbox!

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  8. That is way too freaky!

    I wouldn't want to be driving through that...

    "/

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  9. I saw this on the news, it was insane! I'm hoping the pool and patio clean up aren't as horrific as I'm imagining. Good luck!

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  10. Having experienced the storm, I knew what you were talking about. However, having had my first ever mammogram this morning, it made me laugh :)

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  11. We got a few drops after the storm rolled through. Just enough to make massive circles of mud on the car windshield LOL You should have seen the dirt that came in through the dog door.

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  12. Wow. The video is really intense. I recall a monsoon microburst that happened while we were there in 1993-94-ish that was so strong it ripped our fence down, the roofs off many homes, and sent everything flying into the air. The kids and I gathered together in a narrow hallway for protection should the glass sliding doors shatter. It was quite scary. And the power was out for two days. It was so hot.
    glad you all are okay.

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  13. holy bananas!!!!!! that's incredible! and i thought living here in the dust bowl of the tri-cities & the columbia basin were miserable for wind & dust....sheesh!!!! note to self: glad i'm here sweeping my little pile of dust back outta my house & not there shoveling out your pool/mud-pit! ::hugs::

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  14. That is insane! I've never heard of a Haboob *snicker* before but based on that video, it must've been insane! Hope you didn't have to be outside during all that...

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