Type of intense dust storm
A
haboob
[1]
(
Arabic
:
?????
,
romanized
:
hab?b
,
lit.
'blasting/drifting') is a type of intense
dust storm
carried by the wind of a
weather front
. Haboobs occur regularly in
dry land area
regions throughout the world.
Definition
[
edit
]
During
thunderstorm
formation, winds move in a direction opposite to the storm's travel, and they move from all directions into the thunderstorm. When the storm collapses and begins to release precipitation, wind directions reverse, gusting outward from the storm and generally gusting the strongest in the direction of the storm's travel.
[2]
[3]
[4]
When this downdraft of cold air, or
downburst
, reaches the ground, it blows dry, loose silt and clay (collectively, dust) up from the desert, creating a wall of airborne sediment that precedes the storm cloud. This wall of dust can be up to 100 km (62 mi) wide and several kilometers in elevation. At their strongest, haboob winds often travel at 35?100 km/h (22?62 mph), and they may approach with little or no warning. Often rain does not appear at ground level as it evaporates in the hot, dry air (a phenomenon known as
virga
). The evaporation cools the rushing air even further and accelerates it. Occasionally, when the rain does persist, it can contain a considerable quantity of dust. Severe cases are called
mud storms
. Eye and respiratory system protection is advisable for anyone who must be outside during a haboob. Moving to shelter is highly advised during a strong event.
Occurrence
[
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]
Middle East
[
edit
]
Haboobs have been observed in the
Sahara
,
Sahel
(typically
Sudan
, where they were named and described), as well as across the
Arabian Peninsula
, throughout
Kuwait
, and in the most arid regions of
Iraq
.
[5]
Haboob
winds
in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Kuwait are frequently created by the collapse of a
thunderstorm
.
North Africa
[
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]
African haboobs result from the northward summer shift of the
Intertropical Convergence Zone
into
North Africa
, bringing moisture from the
Gulf of Guinea
.
Australia
[
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]
Haboobs in Australia may be frequently associated with
cold fronts
. The deserts of
Central Australia
, especially near
Alice Springs
, are particularly prone to haboobs, with sand and debris reaching several kilometers into the sky and leaving up to 30 centimetres (1 ft) of sand in the haboob's path.
North America
[
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]
As with haboobs in the Middle East, haboob occurrences in North America are often created by the collapse of a thunderstorm. This is a local or
mesoscale
event, and at times of extreme drought they can originate in agricultural regions. Some of the most famous dust storms of the Dust Bowl and similar conditions later were in fact synoptic scale events typically generated by a strong cold frontal passage, with storms on
11 November 1911
, 9?11 May 1934, 14 April 1935, and 19 February 1954 having been particularly vivid examples.
The arid and semiarid regions of
North America
?in fact, any dry region?may experience haboobs. In North America, the most common terms for these events are either
dust storm
or sandstorm. In the U.S., they frequently occur in the deserts of
Arizona
, including around the cities of
Yuma
and
Phoenix
;
[6]
[7]
in
New Mexico
, including
Albuquerque
; eastern
California
; and
Texas
.
[8]
Per the
Washington State Department of Ecology
, they also occur in the
Columbia Basin
of
Eastern Washington
, and can impact cities such as
Walla Walla
[9]
and
Spokane
.
[10]
In Washington, improved farming practices have led to a decline in large dust storms and haboobs since the 1990s,
[11]
with the largest likelihood of formation between late March through April, corresponding to the beginning of field tilling in Eastern Washington.
[12]
In
Mexico
, they occur in the northern part of the country in the
Sonoran
and
Chihuahuan Desert
. Most recently, a haboob impacted the cities of
Guaymas
,
San Carlos
, and
Empalme
,
Sonora
on 20 July 2023.
[13]
Mars
[
edit
]
Global dust storms on Mars
have been compared to haboobs on Earth.
[14]
Titan
[
edit
]
Dust storms of
Titan
observed in 2009 and 2010 have been compared to haboobs.
[15]
[16]
However, the convective storm clouds are composed of
liquid methane droplets
, and the dust is likely composed of organic
tholins
.
[16]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Haboob
at the
Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^
Farquharson, J. S. (1937). "Haboobs and instability in the sudan".
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
.
63
(271): 393?414.
Bibcode
:
1937QJRMS..63..393F
.
doi
:
10.1002/qj.49706327111
.
- ^
Lawson, T. J. (1971). "Haboob Structure at Khartoum".
Weather
.
26
(3): 105?112.
Bibcode
:
1971Wthr...26..105L
.
doi
:
10.1002/j.1477-8696.1971.tb07402.x
.
- ^
Membery, D. A. (1985). "A Gravity-Wave Haboob?".
Weather
.
40
(7): 214?221.
Bibcode
:
1985Wthr...40..214M
.
doi
:
10.1002/j.1477-8696.1985.tb06877.x
.
- ^
Sutton, L. J. (1925). "Haboobs".
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
.
51
(213): 25?30.
Bibcode
:
1925QJRMS..51...25S
.
doi
:
10.1002/qj.49705121305
.
- ^
Idso, S.B.; Ingram, R.S.; Pritchard, J.M. (1972).
"An American Haboob"
.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
.
53
(10): 930?935.
Bibcode
:
1972BAMS...53..930I
.
doi
:
10.1175/1520-0477(1972)053<0930:AAH>2.0.CO;2
.
- ^
Idso, Carolyn W. (1973). "Haboobs in Arizona".
Weather
.
28
(4): 154?155.
Bibcode
:
1973Wthr...28..154I
.
doi
:
10.1002/j.1477-8696.1973.tb02253.x
.
- ^
Chen, W.; Fryrear, D.W. (2002). "Sedimentary characteristics of a haboob dust storm".
Atmospheric Research
.
61
(1): 75?85.
Bibcode
:
2002AtmRe..61...75C
.
doi
:
10.1016/S0169-8095(01)00092-8
.
- ^
Ellison, Jake (18 September 2013).
"Photos: Major 'haboob' ? dust and windstorm ? strikes eastern Washington"
.
Seattle PI
. Retrieved
22 June
2023
.
- ^
Loyd, Nic; Weiford, Linda (12 August 2021).
"Weathercatch: Dust-filled drama of past teaches lesson for future"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. Retrieved
22 June
2023
.
- ^
Vaughn, Kim (1 April 2021).
"Get ready, it's haboob season"
.
Department of Ecology State of Washington
. Retrieved
22 June
2023
.
- ^
Vaughn, Kim (1 April 2021).
"What you need to know about dust storms in Washington"
.
Department of Ecology State of Washington
. Retrieved
22 June
2023
.
- ^
Grupo Healy (20 July 2023).
"Tormenta de arena cubre Guaymas; Proteccion Civil Sonora emite medidas para la poblacion"
[Dust storm covers Guaymas; Proteccion Civil Sonora issues safety measures].
El Imparcial
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
21 July
2023
.
- ^
Boyle, R. (9 March 2017).
"Everything About Mars Is the Worst"
. FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^
Keane, James Tuttle (October 2018).
"Haboobs on Titan"
.
Nature Geoscience
.
11
(10): 705.
Bibcode
:
2018NatGe..11..705K
.
doi
:
10.1038/s41561-018-0240-3
.
ISSN
1752-0908
.
S2CID
135135003
.
- ^
a
b
Rodriguez, S.; Le Mouelic, S.; Barnes, J. W.; Kok, J. F.; Rafkin, S. C. R.; Lorenz, R. D.; Charnay, B.; Radebaugh, J.; Narteau, C.; Cornet, T.; Bourgeois, O. (October 2018).
"Observational evidence for active dust storms on Titan at equinox"
.
Nature Geoscience
.
11
(10): 727?732.
Bibcode
:
2018NatGe..11..727R
.
doi
:
10.1038/s41561-018-0233-2
.
ISSN
1752-0908
.
S2CID
134006536
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Haboobs
.