The Dust Monster that Swallowed Phoenix
City goes dark as storm envelopes it
It looked like a giant brown tsunami consuming everything in its path. But this wasn’t a wave of water; it was a vast cloud of desert sand and dust that darkened the whole city of Phoenix, Arizona, grounded planes, and brought people and traffic to a standstill.
The dust storm, known locally as a “haboob”, was 50 miles wide and as high as a mountain as it swept up from the south and enveloped the city.
Here’s how it was described on Channel 12 TV in Phoenix: