A haboob covered central Arizona in dust. But what exactly is it?

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7551x5034+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F31%2Fd5%2F7925a1b448c698a76fc9277339e0%2Fap25238058969137.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7551x5034+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F31%2Fd5%2F7925a1b448c698a76fc9277339e0%2Fap25238058969137.jpg" class="img" alt="A giant dust storm approaches the Phoenix metro area as a monsoon storm pushes the dust into the air on Aug. 25 in Phoenix, Az." fetchpriority="high"/> An enormous mud storm approaches the Phoenix metro space as a monsoon storm pushes the mud into the air on Aug. 25 in Phoenix, Az. Ross D. Franklin/AP cover caption

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Ross D. Franklin/AP Components of central Arizona have been engulfed by a towering wall of mud on Monday night — producing dramatic scenes that despatched shockwaves far past the Grand Canyon state.

" It was bigger and it went via a metropolitan space so it gained a variety of consideration," mentioned Mark O'Malley, a meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service in Phoenix.

Based on O'Malley, the mud storm — generally known as a haboob — originated in southern Arizona round 3:30 p.m. native time and reached town of Phoenix about two hours later.

The storm steadily weakened because it moved via north-central Arizona and in complete, lasted about an hour, O'Malley added.

The haboob was accompanied by intense thunderstorms. On Monday night, greater than 39,000 households in Arizona have been with out energy and the majority of outages have been in Maricopa County, which incorporates Phoenix, in line with NPR member station KJZZ.

The mud storm additionally decreased visibility to a quarter-mile throughout town. The state's Division of Transportation urged drivers to remain off the street and flights on the Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport have been quickly grounded, KJZZ reported.

Though photographs from the haboob could look apocalyptic, dozens of mud storms happen every year in southwestern U.S., in line with the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Here is what to know.

How do haboobs kind? These mud storms are the results of highly effective winds from a thunderstorm. Because the storm cell strikes, it forces air down and ahead, choosing up mud and particles alongside the best way, in line with NOAA.

The latest haboob that swept via Phoenix additionally got here after a sequence of extreme thunderstorms within the space.

" That is how these outflows kind is behind thunderstorms and it pushes throughout the desert and on this case, picked up a variety of filth and transported it into the Phoenix metro space," O'Malley mentioned.

The phrase "haboob" comes from the Arabic phrase "haab" which means "wind" or "blow,' in line with NOAA. Haboobs are frequent in sizzling and dry areas just like the Sahara desert and the Arabian Peninsula.

How harmful are haboobs? Wind speeds reaching 60 miles per hour could cause a wall of mud as excessive as 10,000 toes, NOAA mentioned. However these storms are usually transient, lasting between 10 to half-hour.

Nonetheless, mud storms have been the reason for dozens of site visitors fatalities within the U.S. through the years. In 2023, researchers from NOAA's Air Sources Laboratory estimated that between 2007 and 2017, there have been no less than 232 deaths from mud storm-related site visitors occasions.

"We discovered that mud occasions prompted life losses akin to occasions like hurricanes and wildfires in some years," Daniel Tong, one of many authors of the analysis paper, mentioned in 2023. "Better consciousness might cut back crashes and presumably save lives."