It was a Haboob! by Author Elaine A. Powers

On a recent cloudy Saturday, my phone alarm went off with an emergency weather alert. A dust storm was approaching, severe enough for a warning to be issued.

I went outside. Sure enough, I could see the approaching dust storm. It’s appearance as reddish distinguished it from the dark clouds above. This was one of the violent, intense dust storms that form in the summer in Arizona called a haboob.

Only a few minutes later, the dust storm arrived at my house. The storm clouds were completely obliterated by the dust.

The storm passed over me, pelting me with sand moved by the high velocity winds. Definitely not a pleasant feeling. I took shelter, observing the haboob’s progress from inside.

The dust was followed by a massive lightning storm. All around me the dark sky flashed, and the thunder rumbled constantly.

However, despite the energy demonstrated by the haboob and the lightning, no rain was produced.

I was hopeful that this system would bring some desperately needed rain.

Nope. This is the rain the fell after the dust storm.

Book Note: I’ve added another book to my Sonoran Desert collection, Squirrels of the Sonoran Desert. It’s pretty wild some days down here! Check out these cute critters here.