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More on Our Dust Storm

July 10, 2011, 11:34 am

I blogged on our dust storm last week.  It was really bizarre to watch it rolling in on us.  It was one of those things that you know intellectually is not really threatening but a steady diet of Stephen King and other authors had some part of my brain wondering if I shouldn't be driving north at 90MPH to stay ahead of it.

By the way, such storms are called a "haboob".

Radley Balko linked this time lapse video.

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Category: Arizona
  • Frank Waleczak

    Remember one back in 75 and again in 83 down in the Tucson areas. Have to say, this Haboob thing is a new one. Now, as for a little fear, try being 10 and seeing this roll in while out playing in the desert.

  • John Moore

    One minor hazard from these things is a potential increased incidence in Valley Fever infections, which can be serious (Coccidiomycosis).

  • http://www.grouchyconservativepundits.com Mike C.

    Experienced one of those things while living in Doha back in the early 90s. Within 2 minutes, it was a dark outside (at 4 PM) as it ever gets on earth. I decided to go retrieve the kids from a couple of blocks away and jumped in my trusty Nissan Patrol. When I turned on the headlights, nothing happened - I thought something had broken. But no - the light from the headlights simply wasn't strong enough to make it all the way over the rather short hood to the windshield. After it passed, there were dust drifts in the streets approaching 3' tall. Seriously Biblical stuff...

  • bob sykes

    The Dust Bowl storms were even larger, with dust reaching the East Coast.

  • Chris T.

    Back in the 60's and 70's we called them dust storms. If it then rained, we called them mudburts. The world didn't end. Buck up, kid.

  • Fred Z

    I'll call it a haboob when you call Munich "Muenchen" and spell it with an umlaut rather than "ue".

    It's a "dust storm".

  • http://www.arizonavictimsofvalleyfever.org Janice Arenofsky

    As director of Arizona Victims of Valley Fever, don't minimize the danger of valley fever. If you read about it at http://www.vfce.arizona.edu or http://www.arizonavictimsofvalleyfever.org, you'll learn that it is not "minor." And it is even worse on dogs and zoo animals. Without warning and showing any real symptoms, a dog can have a seizure and die on the spot. It happens because symptoms can be vague and vets misdiagnose it regularly. So enjoy looking at pictures of dust storms, but don't go out in one or allow your pet to do so. Otherwise you're taking a big risk and asking like a jerk. Keep in mind there is no cure; drug only curtail the disease. Tell Arizona to do something about minimizing the danger. They can't prevent dust storms, but they can appropriate funds for a speedier cure.

  • http://www.foundco.com Tucson Web Design

    That was a pretty crazy storm. I was surprised to see it.