A destructive dust storm of epic proportions, more than 200 miles long, hit New Mexico on Wednesday, kicking up clouds of debris visible from space.
The extreme storm, which also spread into northern Mexico, put 18 motorists in the hospital after its opaque clouds caused multiple accidents on Interstate 25.
The storm’s massive wave of dust was captured in vivid color via a satellite operated jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Colorado State Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA).
“Less than 1/4 mile of visibility southeast of Deming,” the National Weather Service’s El Paso office warned residents near the state’s southern border as the storm moved.
High-speed wind gusts of up to 94 miles per hour hit southern parts of the state while the Albuquerque area was left with piles of frozen hail from the storm, which also caused mudslides and flooding near the Sierra Blanca mountains again. Mexico.
A massive and destructive dust storm, more than 200 miles long, hit New Mexico on Wednesday, kicking up clouds of debris that were visible from space, via satellite images managed by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. Colorado State (above).
High-speed wind gusts of up to 94 miles per hour hit parts of southern New Mexico while the Albuquerque area was left with piles of frozen hail from the storm, which also caused mudslides and flooding near the Sierra Blanca mountains of the state.
This type of dust storm, which is caused by a change in air pressure after a severe storm, is technically known to meteorologists as a “haboob,” from the Arabic word meaning “explosion.”
In the run-up to a developing storm, wind flows from all directions toward the cloud formation, but the wind breaks when heavy rain from the storm begins to flow.
Soon, an intense ‘bang’, an outflow of cold, dense air, pushes up loose soil, sand, dust and debris as it rushes out of the ongoing storm.
The resulting ‘haboob’ dust storm is capable of launching these particles as high as 5,000 feet in the air.
And the resulting wall of small particles can not only obstruct vision, but can also cause health problems, as the particles contain a mix of fungi, pollutants, chemicals and more.
Haboobs can occur anywhere in the United States, but tend to occur most frequently in the Southwest.
They are also common in the Middle East and, in recent years, Australia, thanks to increasingly dry conditions on the continent induced by global climate change.
But the New Mexico haboob surprised scientists Wednesday with its size and strength, according to Washington Postand the civilians were equally astonished.
An airline passenger photographed the wall of dust advancing from 30,000 feet above the state and posted on social media site X: “It’s crazy to see a haboob from this vantage point.”
An airline passenger photographed the wall of dust advancing from 30,000 feet above the state and posted on social media: “It’s crazy to see a haboob from this vantage point.”
UCLA climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain attributed the storm’s ferocity to the climate change-intensified hurricane and tropical storm season, which began this month.
The ‘remnant moisture’ and ‘gyre’ (vorticity) of former Tropical Storm Alberto have brought a litany of unusual weather (early showers, severe storms, flash flooding, and a major haboob/dust storm) to TX, NM, AZ, and northern MX for the last 3 days,” said Dr. Swain explained Friday.
Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, a climate change expert who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his role in helping lead the United Nations’ IPCC analysis of global warming, agreed, but added a dire prediction. .
“As climate change dries out the American Southwest,” Dr. Overpeck wrote“Huge dust storms will become more and more frequent.”