We had a haboob!

Tucson had a haboob over the weekend! A haboob is a wind storm that creates a wall of dust several thousand feet high that roars across the desert in the Southwest, especially in Arizona.

I got a dust storm warning on my phone, advising that the dust could create zero visibility and that drivers should pull over and turn off their lights if engulfed in one. I stayed at home watching my trees being pummeled by the wind. A friend's big mesquite tree in her front yard was ripped from the ground and my power flickered a few times.

The word haboob (which spell check keeps changing to kabob), comes from the Arabic word habb, which means wind.

I took these sunset photos from my front courtyard that night, about the time the haboob was engulfing other parts of Tucson. 

Dust storms come with our summer monsoon season, when we get most of our annual rainfall. Last year the monsoon skipped us, so this year everyone here is ecstatic that we've had a few good rains. This next photo shows rain over the Tucson mountains as viewed from my house.

When the monsoon rains hit, Texas ranger plants all over the city burst into beautiful purple blooms! Here is the one by my neighbor's house.

Have a colorful day