A towering wall of dust has rolled through Phoenix, Arizona, with storms that left tens of thousands of people without power and temporarily grounded flights at the city’s airport.
About 39,000 people were without power in Arizona.
Most of them were in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, according to PowerOutage.us.
Motorists hurried home through strong winds and rain as the dust storm, commonly known as a haboob, approached on Monday (local time).
Haboobs are associated with collapsing thunderstorms and strong winds and can make driving on roads nearly impossible.
The haboob cut visibility to 500 metres across metropolitan Phoenix but had cleared by Monday night.
Phoenix has been drier than usual during the summer rainy season, while parts of south-east and north-central Arizona have had a fair amount of rain.
The Arizona Department of Transportation wrote on X that people should not drive into a dust storm, “But if you’re on the road when one hits, PULL ASIDE, STAY ALIVE!”
Planes were temporarily grounded at the Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport due to the extreme weather.
Flights had resumed, with half-hour delays, by Monday night.
Traffic lights were also out in neighbouring Gilbert, as the storm toppled trees across town, according to the city’s police department.
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