A haboob ( ar, هَبوب, lit=blasting/drifting, translit=habūb) is a type of intense

dust storm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...

carried on an atmospheric

gravity current In fluid dynamics, a gravity current or density current is a primarily horizontal flow in a gravitational field that is driven by a density difference in a fluid or fluids and is constrained to flow horizontally by, for instance, a ceiling. Typ ...

, also known as a

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...

. Haboobs occur regularly in dry land area regions throughout the world.

Description

During

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

formation, winds move in a direction opposite to the storm's travel, and they move from all directions into the thunderstorm. When the storm collapses and begins to release precipitation, wind directions reverse, gusting outward from the storm and generally gusting the strongest in the direction of the storm's travel. When this downdraft of cold air, or

downburst In meteorology, a downburst is a strong downward and outward gushing wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface level. Capable of pro ...

, reaches the ground, it blows dry, loose silt and clay (collectively, dust) up from the desert, creating a wall of airborne sediment that precedes the storm cloud. This wall of dust can be up to wide and several kilometers in elevation. At their strongest, haboob winds often travel at , and they may approach with little or no warning. Often rain does not appear at ground level as it evaporates in the hot, dry air (a phenomenon known as

virga In meteorology, a virga, also called a dry storm, is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation falling from a cloud that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. A shaft of precipitation that does not evaporate before rea ...

). The evaporation cools the rushing air even further and accelerates it. Occasionally, when the rain does persist, it can contain a considerable quantity of dust. Severe cases are called ''mud storms''. Eye and respiratory system protection is advisable for anyone who must be outside during a haboob. Moving to shelter is highly advised during a strong event.

Occurrence

Middle East

Haboobs have been observed in the Sahara, Sahel (typically Sudan, where they were named and described), as well as across the Arabian Peninsula, throughout

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, and in the most arid regions of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Haboob

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...

s in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Kuwait are frequently created by the collapse of a

North Africa

African haboobs result from the northward summer shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone into

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, bringing moisture from the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

Australia

Haboobs in Australia may be frequently associated with

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropical cyclone (to the west in the Northern ...

s. The deserts of Central Australia, especially near Alice Springs, are particularly prone to haboobs, with sand and debris reaching several kilometers into the sky and leaving up to of sand in the haboob's path.

North America

As with haboobs in the Middle East, haboob occurrences in North America are often created by the collapse of a thunderstorm. This is a local or mesoscale event, and at times of extreme drought they can originate in agricultural regions. Some of the most famous dust storms of the Dust Bowl and similar conditions later were in fact synoptic scale events typically generated by a strong cold frontal passage, with storms on 11 November 1911, 9–11 May 1934, 14 April 1935, and 19 February 1954 having been particularly vivid examples. The arid and semiarid regions of North America—in fact, any dry region—may experience haboobs. In North America, the most common terms for these events are either

or sandstorm. In the U.S., they frequently occur in the deserts of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, including around the cities of Yuma and

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

; in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, including

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, eastern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. They also sometimes occur in the Columbia Basin of

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanf ...

, almost always leading to an impact on the city of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

. If these storms are strong enough, they can reach as far east as

Post Falls Post Falls is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington. It is a suburb of Coeur d'Alene, to the east, and a bedroom community to Spokane, to the west. The population was 38,485 at the time of the 2020 cens ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, in

North Idaho The Idaho Panhandle—locally known as North Idaho—is a salient region of the U.S. state of Idaho encompassing the state's 10 northernmost counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and S ...

Mars

Global dust storms on Mars have been compared to haboobs on Earth.

Titan

Dust storms of Titan observed in 2009 and 2010 have been compared to haboobs. However, the convective storm clouds are composed of liquid methane droplets, and the dust is likely composed of organic

tholin Tholins (after the Greek (') "hazy" or "muddy"; from the ancient Greek word meaning "sepia ink") are a wide variety of organic compounds formed by solar ultraviolet or cosmic ray irradiation of simple carbon-containing compounds such as carbon ...

References

External links

Haboob Photos
@ HikeArizona.COM
Haboobs, Arizona Department of Transportation.

The Bibliography of Aeolian Research

* {{YouTube, Ibpsxr71VVA, Short Video of the 5 July 2011 Arizona Haboob (Flash Video software or a web browser supporting H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is necessary to see the content)
Time-lapse video of the 5 July 2011 Arizona Haboob
Dust storms Storm Weather hazards