Haboob Hubbub: The Science of the Monster Phoenix Dust Storm   Live Science - July 7, 2011

The massive dust storm that swept through Phoenix, Ariz., Tuesday night, reducing visibility to near zero and delaying flights, was a whopper, meteorologists said. The dust storm is what's called a Haboob (Arabic for "strong wind"). In the United States, haboobs are common in Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. But yesterday's haboob was more like something you'd see in the Middle East or other arid regions around the world, said Ken Waters, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix.