are you sick of the haboob posts yet?

I just don't get it.

I have lived in Arizona for 2 whole years (this week!) and I had never seen a haboob until this summer.  And after today, I have seen 3.

As I walked out of clinic this afternoon, I spent some time admiring the amazing cloud formations.  When it finally does rain in Phoenix, the storms are impressive and very beautiful.  And since there are no tall tress or tall buildings, you can see the clouds and storms for miles.  I took this shot from my mailbox.

About an hour later, I took a peek out the window because I heard the neighbors making some noise outside.  Since it is 100+ degrees out and my neighbors are usually very quiet, I knew something was up.  I went out onto my patio and this is what I saw.

For once, I had a front row seat to the coming of this haboob.  It was approaching from the east, which is the direction that my balcony faces.  I sat outside for about 15 minutes.  Gradually, the haboob moved closer.  I was pretty surprised at how quickly it approached.  Pretty soon, I couldn't see the neighborhood across the street and then the mountain on the other side of the highway became obscured.  The wind really kicked up and you could see plumes of dust engulfing everything as the haboob hit my apartment. And I got it on video.

Pretty soon, everything was covered in dust and you could no longer see the mountains on the other side of the highway.  

My eyes started burning and the throat started tickling, which meant it was time to head inside.  The whole thing happened in about 30 minutes.  Now, the thunderstorms have cleared the dust from the air.  It is lightning like there is no tomorrow with incredible wind.  Some rain drops are swirling around, but not enough to make the ground wet; it is too hot and the drops evaporate before they hit the ground.  Don't you want to live in an area that has weather like this?

In other Arizona news, I saw a coyote yesterday morning on my way to the clinic.  At first I thought it was a german shepherd until I got a closer look.  It was definitely a coyote.  I startled him and he ran back through the fence onto campus.  Hope I don't come face to face with him on foot!