It feels like nothing excites an Arizonan more than a monsoon or haboob. These dusty summer storms, and the excited conversation that they inspire, have long been fairly unique to Arizona.
But last week the LA Times reported that climate change is making California ripe for haboobs.
University of California researchers have even formed a consortium called UC Dust to research the causes, impacts and future of dust storms in California.
They say environmental factors like how much it rains, how moist the soil is, how hot the ground is and how windy it is are all increasing dust emissions — meaning we can expect more dust storms across the Southwest.
We have a bit of haboob advice for our neighbors to the west:
Pull over if you’re driving.
If you’re home, stay inside.
If you’re outside for some reason — keep your mouth closed.
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The Valley’s unseasonably warm winter will continue this week, with high pressure maintaining temperatures in the low 80s through Tuesday. -
It's shaping up to be one of the hottest winters ever in Phoenix. And that affects gardening. -
December was the warmest ever recorded in the Valley. January wasn’t a record-breaker, but it’s on track to be the fourth-hottest ever for Phoenix. -
Cloud seeding is the practice of putting tiny particles, usually salts, into the atmosphere to increase precipitation chances. -
Temperatures in the Valley are projected to reach the mid- to upper 70s later in the week, which the National Weather Service said is well above what he would expect this time of year.
