Arizona Dust Storm Arrived to Phoenix

The sky turned brown in the Phoenix area on Monday due to a giant wall of dust, also known as a “haboob” in Arabic and around Arizona, that formed in Pinal County and headed northeast to Phoenix.The dust wall was about 3,000 feet high and created winds of 25 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 40 mph, said Austin Jamison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Visibility was down to less than a quarter-mile in some areas, he said.

Weather officials say haboobs only happen in Arizona, the Sahara desert and parts of the Middle East because of dry conditions and large amounts of sand.

The dust also brings increases in a disease known as Valley Fever, a fungal pneumonia.

(MS)

Source: AP