We've had weather the last 2 nights. Does this mean an early monsoon? (monsuun?)
On Tuesday evening, June 6th (yes, 06-06-06), an eight thousand foot wall of dust rolled in from the South around six o' clock. I was driving home on the north 202, listening to 620 am for their every-ten-minutes-on -the-sixes traffic and weather reports. The weather guy was telling folks that zero visibility was possible, so pull over and turn your lights off, so you wouldn't get hit by someone behind you.
Next to me at the stoplight were 3 guys in a work truck, all paint bespattered and listening to a poppy-sounding Mexican radio station. Like me, they were staring down Alma School road at the Giants heading towards us. Amongst the Giants were multiple swirling dust devils, it seemed. Some of the dust that got picked up was a darkbrown-red color and so you could actually see various patterns in the whirlwind. At first I thought it was a smoke from a fire plus a dust storm, but no, it was all the haboob.
In the midst of the haboob was a helicopter, maybe my am 620 helicopter? Very possible.
This was too bldgblog to experience by myself. I rolled down the window and glanced over at the guys in the truck. "Isn't it cool?" The driver said. It was, I said, but it could be dangerous.
They laughed. For just a second it was all too surreal and wonderful, watching this force of nature surging our way. The green arrow turned on and they turned east. When my light changed, I headed towards the haboob. I felt like Frodo going to the mountain with the ring. I might die, but I just had to get closer.
I'm still here to tell you about it, but it was a little frightening as it passed over me at a parking lot at Alma School and Southern. And it was very cool.
Here is a photo Becky took of it on Baseline road. She was at Baseline and Rural (I think), when she pulled over to wait for it to pass.
And then here are some photos of haboobs that came through Phoenix that I found on the Internet when I went looking for more info on them. The first one is at Sky Harbour. That second pic might actually be Tucson, not Phoenix.
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