Dust storm over downtown Phoenix
On Monday, Aug. 25, parts of central Arizona were swallowed by a massive haboob or dust storm. The towering wall of dust was pushed by powerful thunderstorm winds and within hours, the storm rolled into Phoenix, reducing visibility to a quarter-mile, grounding flights, and leaving almost 40 thousand households without power.
Though dramatic images might have made it seem to some that the apocalypse had arrived, these events are surprisingly common in the desert Southwest. They have also happened right here in Wisconsin.
About haboobs
Dig deeper:
Haboobs form when thunderstorm downdrafts hit the ground and surge outward, scooping up dirt and debris along the way. Wind speeds can reach 60 miles per hour. They can kick up dust clouds as high as 10,000 feet.
The word "haboob" comes from Arabic, meaning "to blow," and these storms definitely live up to their name. They don't typically last very long, often 10 to 30 minutes, but they can be very dangerous.
Sudden drops in visibility have caused deadly traffic accidents, and long-lasting dust in the air can trigger asthma, lung infections, and other respiratory problems.
Wisconsin dust storm history
Why you should care:
While Arizona gets most of the attention, dust storms are not confined to the Southwest. In fact, Wisconsin has its own dusty history. As recently as May 2020, strong winds lifted dust from dry agricultural fields in central Wisconsin, leading to massive pileups on Interstate 39. Just this year, on May 16th, the Chicago area had the city’s worst dust storm since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s.
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During the Dust Bowl, topsoil stripped from the Plains rode the winds for hundreds of miles. In May 1934, Sheboygan’s air was reported to have 5 million dust particles per cubic foot and beaches along Lake Michigan were coated with an inch of prairie soil.
So, could it happen again here? Yes. Wisconsin’s climate and vegetation make large-scale dust storms less likely, but short-lived events are possible, especially during prolonged droughts.
Our state is downstream from Great Plains dust, meaning prairie soil can still drift our way under the right conditions.
The good news: we’ve learned from history. Modern sustainable farming practices like crop rotation, planting cover grasses, and windbreaks help anchor topsoil. Combined with improved weather monitoring, these efforts make a Wisconsin-scale "Dust Bowl" highly unlikely.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the FOX6 Weather Experts.