Haboob Dusts New Mexico

A dust storm howled into New Mexico on the evening of June 7, 2013. We have the weather analysis, photos and video of this event below.

Weather Imagery
Below is an animation of radar imagery from the NWS-Albuquerque from 4:35 p.m. to 6:38 p.m MDT on June 7, 2013. The thunderstorms responsible for producing the haboob flared in the mountains near Los Alamos and Santa Fe (near the top of the animation). Precipitation falling into a deep layer of dry air evaporates, accelerating the downdraft and outflow winds at the surface, which churns up dust. The leading edge of the haboob, a thin, blue line of reflectivity highlighted by the yellow arrows, then raced southwestward into Albuquerque. (Images courtesy: Gibson Ridge/NWS-Albuquerque)

ha - boob (The American version): A duststorm caused by strong winds flowing downward and outward from thunderstorms, kicking up dust in dry, desert areas. Upward motion on the leading edge of the gusty winds and turbulent motions stirs up the dust into a layer several thousand feet thick. This word comes from the Middle East and north Africa, where these are more common, derived from the Arabic word "habb", meaning wind
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