A haboob is an intense dust storm, typically seen in very dry areas such as deserts. They are often seen in the Sahara Desert, across the Arabian peninsula and sometimes in the American southwest. They are fairly frequent in the Phoenix area due to a long-term drought. Wikipedia has more information and some pictures if you’re interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haboob
So, we were in Death Valley for a couple of weeks to enjoy the warm desert air and the beautiful scenery. On our second day there (Feb 13) we took a drive to the north end of the park, but the weather wasn’t conducive to much sightseeing, so we headed back to the RV. After lunch I went outside for some reason and looked up to see a massive wall of dust/sand approaching. It was traveling north to south down the valley. To discern the size of this wall, look for the building on the lower left.
Haboob is coming!
I ran in to get my camera and told Harold to do the same. After taking a few pictures, we hopped in the car and headed south along the valley to get ahead of the dust. We stopped several times along the way to take photographs – until it caught up with us and the wind blew dust and sand and salt into our hair! Then we moved on down the road.
Oh, the dust!
A few more stops, and about an hour later and 20 miles from home, we took our last pictures as the wind stalled and the storm began to dissipate. We estimated that the “wall” was 2-3000ft high, moving 30-35mph (we were driving 55 to keep ahead of it), and probably 15mi wide. The base of the mountains in the background are about 30mi away. What an experience! Here are a few more photos of this incredible phenomenon.
Haboob and clear skies
Sunshine on the dust
In front of the wall
msummersphoto 