Apocalyptic Sandstorm in Phoenix, Arizona D: July 5, 2011
scared D: keep that ish away from Tucson!!
http://www.phoenixvis.net --- Phoenix visibility weather webcams.. (Camelback Mountain cam = UFO hotspot)
on the upside, there is a kee meow @ 05:18....
"A massive dust storm descended on the Phoenix area,
drastically reducing visibility and delaying flights as strong winds downed trees and left thousands of residents without power.
The dust cloud that moved across the Phoenix valley Tuesday night had formed in an afternoon storm in the Tucson area, and then rolled north across the desert before sweeping over the city like an enormous wave, said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Iniguez.
Radar data showed the storm's towering dust wall had reached as high as 8,000 to 10,000 feet, or nearly 2 miles, he said.
"This was pretty significant," Iniguez told The Associated Press. "We heard from a lot of people who lived here for a number of storms and this was the worst they'd seen."
By the time the dust cloud neared the metropolitan area, it had started to dissolve but it still towered over the city with a wall of at least 5,000 feet, according to the weather service.
KSAZ-TV in Phoenix reported the storm appeared to be roughly wide in some spots. It briefly covered the city's downtown at around nightfall. The storm was part of the Arizona monsoon season, which typically starts in mid June and lasts through September.
The National Weather Service says strong winds with gusts of up to more than 60 mph in some places rapidly moved the dust cloud northwest through Phoenix and the surrounding cities of Avondale, Tempe and Scottsdale. More than a dozen communities in the area also were placed under a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m. Some 8,000 Salt River Project utility customers were left without power, KNXV-TV reported late Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on its website that because of low visibility in the area, no Phoenix-bound flights were allowed to leave Las Vegas or Los Angeles airports until 9 p.m., and flights at the airport were delayed for about an hour."
Driving into AZ Haboob HD
July 5 2011 AZ Haboob Driving - GoPro HD
Arizona Dust Storm Monsoon July 2011 in Gilbert
Massive dust storm hits the Phoenix Arizona and Gilbert Arizona areas on July 5th, 2011. HD video footage of the Phoenix, Arizona 2011 Dust Storm Haboob. I scrambled outside very quickly, completely caught off guard by this dust storm so please do not expect any good commentary as it was shot on the fly. lol But I do hope you like the footage! There was tons of dust being thrown through the air, so breathing was quite difficult and the winds began to pick up as the dust storm progressed.
Time Lapse - Arizona Dust Storm - July 5th 2011 - As it hits
PHOENIX — The air around the Phoenix area was a hazy shade of brown and a layer of dirt coated cars and buildings Wednesday following a massive dust storm overnight.
The storm halted airline flights, knocked out power to nearly 10,000 people and fouled up thousands of swimming pools.
Because dust storms, also known by the Arabic term "haboobs," are so hard to predict, Tuesday's took everyone by surprise.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the storm moved like a giant wave, the dust roiling as it approached at up to 60 mph. Once it hit, visibility dropped to zero in some areas, the sky turned nearly black, trees blew sideways, and even downtown Phoenix skyscrapers became invisible.
"Just the height of it looked like a special-effect scene from a movie, like a dust storm out in Africa," said Charlotte Dewey, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Phoenix. "It looked so huge, looking at the city down below, it was just specks of light and miniature buildings.
"I have a feeling that people will be talking about this for another week or two, at least," Dewey said.
She said meteorologists were still trying to get exact measures from satellite and radar to figure out how big the dust storm was and compare it with previous ones, but they estimate it was more than a mile high and more than 100 miles wide. Initial reports had estimated it was 50 miles wide.
"People who've lived here their whole lives, 30 or 40 years, are saying they've never seen a storm this large," Dewey said.
She said winds from separate thunderstorms in the eastern and southern parts of the state collided somewhere between Phoenix and Tucson and combined with a severe lack of moisture to create the wall of dust. The storm also hit the Yuma area in southwestern Arizona, and far western Arizona.
Haboobs only happen in Arizona, the Sahara desert and parts of the Middle East because of dry conditions and large amounts of sand, Dewey said.
"It's a pretty rare thing to be able to see," she said.
While some Arizonans revel in the strange weather, many were unlucky enough to be outside when the storm rolled in. The storm blasted them with dust that went up their noses, behind their contact lenses and in their mouths, leaving behind a gritty taste.
Holly Ward, a spokeswoman at the Maricopa County Air Quality Department, said pollution levels skyrocketed.
During the storm, the amount of particulate matter in the air reached 375 micrograms per cubic meter, more than double the level federal standards consider healthy.
"You didn't have to go far anywhere in the dust storm to feel the remnants of that dust in your throat and in your nose," Ward said. "If someone already has breathing problems like asthma and bronchitis, this is an incredible health challenge and serious health threat for those folks."
The dust storm also grounded flights at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport for 45 minutes. At least three flights were canceled and more than a dozen were delayed, while several incoming flights were diverted to Tucson and Ontario, Calif., said airport spokesman Julie Rodriguez.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said planes need to be grounded during dust storms because of the low visibility, high winds and potential damage from the dirt.
"If you think about it, glass is made from sand that has been melted, and if you think about the temperature inside a jet engine, it's hot enough to melt sand," he said. "If you can't see through it, you definitely don't want to fly through it."
He likened the storm to volcanic ash that wreaked havoc in the skies in April 2010, when an eruption grounded flights across Europe for days, disrupting travel for 10 million people.
The Arizona Republic reported winds also downed live wires in Tempe that sparked a fire at a busy intersection. Firefighters later extinguished the blaze.
'Grit in your teeth'
A woman in Phoenix, who had parked in a lot to escape the storm, told TV station KTVK that she had never seen a storm like it in the 20 years she has lived in the area.
"The grit in your teeth right now ... I just hear crunching," she added. "It is amazing (the storm). It's the most amazing thing I have ever felt in my life."
Arizona's dust storm annoyed others who couldn't see out of their car windows or found their pools filthy in the morning. But that created pay dirt at local businesses.
"It's crazy here," said Margaret Viloria, manager of Los Olivos Hand Car Wash near downtown Phoenix. "When we opened this morning cars were lined up outside. It's just been nonstop."
On a typical day, the car wash cleans about 25 to 30 cars an hour. It was averaging 55 an hour Wednesday, Viloria said.
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