Pilot Captures Unbelievable Photo of a Haboob Sweeping over Phoenix

[bradl]

I was working out of our disaster recovery site in Las Vegas yesterday, and while doing some planespotting and listening to ATC at the dedicated parking area next to the runways at McCarran Int'l airport, ATC was notifying a lot of PHX-bound flights that they were being delayed anywhere from 40 minutes to 3.5 hours because of weather in the area.

Then I saw this.

I was going to start out with defining what a haboob is, but the article would do better than I could, so here's the story, with pics and video to show. Enjoy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...evable-photo-of-haboob-sweeping-over-phoenix/

Pilot captures unbelievable photo of haboob sweeping over Phoenix
By Jason Samenow
August 23, 2016

On Sunday afternoon, a thunderstorm collapsed over Phoenix, and a downward burst of wind collected a towering plume of dust that swept across the region.

To the east, a Southwest Airlines pilot, Ryan Vermillion, captured an unforgettable view of the gathering storm, known as a haboob.

[Arabic weather term ‘haboob’ is apparently troubling for some Texans]

Vermillion was extremely fortunate to witness the blinding wall of dust from the air, as Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport closed just moments after his flight took off.

“I took the photo at about 11,000 feet after departure from Phoenix,” Vermillion said. “We were doing our best to get off the ground before the airport closed, and we ended up being the last to depart. Once we got turned around and headed east, we got a great view! I had to use a panoramic to capture the whole thing, but it really did turn out awesome!”

His photo has since gone viral on social media.

The perspective it provides is reminiscent of another viral photograph from Phoenix of a microburst that was taken from a helicopter in July.

[Watch this incredible microburst come crashing down over Phoenix]

Just as the haboob was visually stunning from the air, it also produced spectacle on the ground. See photos and an amazing video, below.

There's video for this as well:

BL.

 

[MacDawg]

Pretty incredible event, footage and pics
Looks very much like the scene from the first Mummy movie
Thanks for posting

 

[JamesMike]

Great photos!

 

[ucfgrad93]

Wow, that is pretty amazing.

 

[phrehdd]

Striking images and to the OP - thank you for sharing with us.

 

[Huntn]

I was working out of our disaster recovery site in Las Vegas yesterday, and while doing some planespotting and listening to ATC at the dedicated parking area next to the runways at McCarran Int'l airport, ATC was notifying a lot of PHX-bound flights that they were being delayed anywhere from 40 minutes to 3.5 hours because of weather in the area.

Then I saw this.

I was going to start out with defining what a haboob is, but the article would do better than I could, so here's the story, with pics and video to show. Enjoy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...evable-photo-of-haboob-sweeping-over-phoenix/

There's video for this as well:

BL.

Question, does anyone in this country refer to it as a Haboob? I had to look it up. I thought we called them dust or sand storms? Pretty pics though.

 

[bradl]

Question, does anyone in this country refer to it as a Haboob? I had to look it up. I thought we called them dust or sand storms? Pretty pics though.

Does it matter? I mean, think of all the dirty jokes you can make.

BL.

 

[Huntn]

Does it matter? I mean, think of all the dirty jokes you can make.

BL.

We certainly don't need, wait, only my wife and the people at the pool get to see my ha-boobs...

 

[OllyW]

You get some crazy extreme weather in the USA, we just get different types of rain here.

 

[Huntn]

You get some crazy extreme weather in the USA, we just get different types of rain here.

I've read that Europe does get tornadoes, but not nearly as common as the Midwest U.S.

 

[S.B.G]

Wow, that's amazing photography there! Kind of looks scary too.

 

[elf69]

You get some crazy extreme weather in the USA, we just get different types of rain here.

In cornwall we know it summer coz the rain is warmer, lol
We get plenty of sideways rain too!

 

[OllyW]

I've read that Europe does get tornadoes, but not nearly as common as the Midwest U.S.

We do but they are pretty tame compared to what you get.

 

[Huntn]

We do but they are pretty tame compared to what you get.

So no category 5s. That looks like a 1.

F5​

 

[OllyW]

So no category 5s. That looks like a 1.

F2 according to the Wiki.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Question, does anyone in this country refer to it as a Haboob? I had to look it up. I thought we called them dust or sand storms? Pretty pics though.

A haboob specifically refers to a thunderstorm that collapses in this way and kicks up lots of sand and dirt. It seems in the meteorological community dust or sand storms are more generalized terms.

 

[Analog Kid]

I was working out of our disaster recovery site in Las Vegas yesterday, and while doing some planespotting and listening to ATC at the dedicated parking area next to the runways at McCarran Int'l airport, ATC was notifying a lot of PHX-bound flights that they were being delayed anywhere from 40 minutes to 3.5 hours because of weather in the area.

Then I saw this.

I was going to start out with defining what a haboob is, but the article would do better than I could, so here's the story, with pics and video to show. Enjoy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...evable-photo-of-haboob-sweeping-over-phoenix/

There's video for this as well:

BL.

Wow! Thanks for sharing! That is just amazing to see from the air.

 

[960design]

Wow! I know I'm late to the game, but DAMN!
That is some crazy **** that gets entire chapters in the <religious text of your choosing>.

 

[Easttime]

Question, does anyone in this country refer to it as a Haboob? I had to look it up. I thought we called them dust or sand storms? Pretty pics though.

There is a difference between haboob and sandstorm: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...parently-troubling-for-some-texans/?tid=a_inl

 

[bradl]

So no category 5s. That looks like a 1.

F5​

Obligatory Mater from Cars quote:

I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!

Having been through a couple of F4s and an F5, I'd honestly say I'd prefer a tornado over an earthquake. At least you know when the tornado is coming.

BL.

 

[Huntn]

Obligatory Mater from Cars quote:



Having been through a couple of F4s and an F5, I'd honestly say I'd prefer a tornado over an earthquake. At least you know when the tornado is coming.

BL.

Well, I have not lived through a tornado, and have several (mild) earthquakes and I may be out on a limb here, but I'd prefer the earthquake if living in my house because I assume, while everything may come off the walls, the house most likely will still be standing, or be a bit damaged, but not a concrete slab wiped clean.

 

[obeygiant]

A Haboob?

 

[Analog Kid]

There is a difference between haboob and sandstorm: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...parently-troubling-for-some-texans/?tid=a_inl

"Speaking of boobs, we got some comments from Texas..."

 

[bradl]

A Haboob?

Yep, and some damn good haboob, too. Looks good on the side, and not flat and flappy, like other, possibly undesirable haboobs.

BL.

 

[Solomani]

Question, does anyone in this country refer to it as a Haboob? I had to look it up. I thought we called them dust or sand storms? Pretty pics though.

Probably "haboob" is used because it sounds more exotic, being a foreign loan word (Arabic it seems).

Just like the word tsunami. Ya'll understand that the word tsunami is a loan word that came from Japanese, right? Of course we could call the event an "oceanic tidal wave of epic proportions usually as a result of an undersea earthquake". Or we could just use the word tsunami.

But hey. I'm sure by now there is a nice compilation of haboob videos on YouTube, I guess we could call it the Haboob Tube.