Gill on unusual summertime dust storms
Scientists said that some of the season’s dust storms had been the most intense since the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. They have caused power outages and deadly crashes around the Southwest.
“The difference between the specific dust storm being seen here in the summer [a haboob] and a regular dust storm is like the difference between a river flood and a flash flood,” said Dr. Tom Gill, an environmental science and engineering professor at the University of Texas, El Paso. “With a river flood, you can generally see the river rising steadily over time. … With a flash flood, all of a sudden a wall of water can come roaring down on an otherwise dry river bed.”
Gill said that like flash floods, haboobs occurred suddenly, even during a clear, calm sky and with no advance warning.
