Why is it so hazy in Phoenix today? You can thank a ‘Haboob’ from New Mexico
Massive haboob in New Mexico dumps dust on our doorstep
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — If you can see a dust storm from space, you know it’s huge. Dust picked up from decaying thunderstorms in New Mexico is causing hazy first and second days of summer around the Phoenix metro and central and southern Arizona.
Yes, the dust came all the way from New Mexico, along with some from eastern Arizona.
National Weather Service meteorologists from El Paso to Albuquerque had their hands full with severe weather late Wednesday. Massive thunderstorms dumped large amounts of hail, flooding rain and strong, damaging winds across the Land of Enchantment and beyond.
As we’ve seen here in the Phoenix metro during our summer monsoon, when those towering thunderstorms start to collapse, the cold, dense air that drops tens of thousands of feet to the ground can roll up massive walls of dust.
The hazy skies today may be due to a combination of factors. The first is the massive dust storm, or haboob, that occurred in New Mexico on Wednesday. Some of that dust raced to the west and could be seen in Arizona’s skies by early Thursday morning. It’s possible that some of this dust has lingered into Friday, creating some of the hazy conditions.
A second contributing factor may be the dust that was kicked up yesterday from the thunderstorms east of Phoenix into the higher elevations and mountains of eastern Arizona. Of course, this is also the time of year when many wildfires are burning in the western U.S., and some of the smoke may be contributing to the haze as well. While the haze should be eventually clearing out, additional thunderstorms are possible over the next several days which could kick up additional dust.
These outflow boundaries can push this dust hundreds of miles, which showed up on weather satellites orbiting the Earth. Estimates put Wednesday’s enormous haboob at over 200 miles long. The outflow pushed the dust westward into our state in the overnight hours from Wednesday to Thursday.
A check of air quality gauges across Maricopa County Thursday afternoon showed several with high levels of PM-10, particulate matter that can be unhealthy for sensitive groups of people with breathing issues.
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