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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Haboob slams Phoenix with a towering wall of dust, causing damage, | |
airport delays and power outages | |
By CNN Meteorologist Briana Waxman and CNN's Sarah Dewberry, Taylor | |
Romine, Hanna Park, CNN | |
Updated: | |
11:14 AM EDT, Tue August 26, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
A towering wall of dust, known meteorologically as a , swallowed parts | |
of metro Phoenix Monday evening, plunging the city into near-zero | |
visibility. | |
The dust storm was quickly followed by severe thunderstorms that tore | |
through the city, leaving behind downed trees, wind damage and | |
widespread power outages. At Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, a connector | |
bridge was shredded by 70 mph wind gusts. | |
The National Weather Service in Phoenix issued both dust storm and | |
severe thunderstorm warnings as the system pushed into Maricopa County | |
Monday evening. The weather service warned drivers of dangerously low | |
visibility and urged people to “.” | |
The Arizona Department of Transportation echoed that warning, saying | |
there was significantly reduced visibility on and due to the dust storm | |
and flooding on roadways, urging drivers to proceed with caution. | |
After the storms swept through, more than 60,000 customers in Arizona | |
were left without power, with the majority of outages concentrated in | |
Maricopa County, according to . | |
For about an hour, the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport had a | |
ground stop preventing any planes from leaving or landing as a cloud of | |
dust seemed ready to swallow up the facility. The airport was | |
experiencing up to 30 minute delays late Monday night while crews | |
assessed any damage or roof leaks, airport spokesperson Gregory E. | |
Roybal said. | |
In Gilbert, Arizona – about 22 miles southeast of Phoenix – there | |
are “traffic light outages and downed trees across town,” , urging | |
residents to avoid travel due to dangerous conditions. | |
Dust storms are nothing new in Arizona’s monsoon season, but this | |
storm packed extra punch. A thunderstorm collapsed, and its winds | |
blasted outward, scooping up desert soil and building it into a rolling | |
wall of dust. These walls can climb thousands of feet high and stretch | |
for miles, cutting off the horizon in seconds, similar to a blizzard in | |
winter. | |
You can see a haboob’s wall of dust coming from a distance but by the | |
time it reaches you, it’s too late to seek shelter – especially if | |
you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. It’s nearly impossible to see | |
more than a few feet in front of you in the worst of these storms as | |
the dust chokes out light. | |
The haboob in Phoenix comes after a weekend dust storm in Nevada blew | |
through , an annual arts gathering in Black Rock City, about 120 miles | |
from Reno. | |
As attendees began arriving at the remote desert location Saturday, | |
strong thunderstorm winds kicked up a dust plume, closing access roads | |
and sending vendors scrambling to secure their tents. | |
“We had to take our sign down. We weren’t expecting that,” vendor | |
Mike Chuda told . “The wind was in such a perfect angle that it was | |
bending our booth forward. So that was pretty wild.” | |
The Southwest monsoon pattern isn’t quite done yet and neither is the | |
triple-digit heat. Phoenix picked up just under a quarter inch of rain | |
with these storms Monday, and the area has a continued chance of | |
thunderstorms Tuesday into Wednesday before the threat eases for the | |
latter half of the week. The heat will build throughout the week, but | |
dry air will limit the potential for late-week thunderstorms. | |
This story has been updated with additional information. | |
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