Yes, this is an actual picture, not a Photoshop concoction. It was taken last summer in July, at twilight.
The phenomenon is now known as a HABOOB. When I was a kid, these happened occasionally, but we just called them "big dust storms." They would usually arise east of Phoenix (as this one did), where urban "improvements" had not yet begun. High winds and open, dry uncultivated or un-paved areas combined to make them. We had several of these events last summer, the likes of which I hadn't seen since my teens.
In the days before air conditioning, when we would see one of these coming, my family would turn off the evaporative (swamp) cooler which would admit outside air into the house. And then the wind and the dust would blow, usually for 1/2 hour to an hour. And during that period, we would swelter in the 100 degree + heat. After the dust storm would pass, we'd tape wet towels over the cooler vents to trap the dust, and turn on the cooler; we'd let it run for 15 minutes or so to clean out the ducts and then launder the towels.
Today, with mechanical air conditioning recirculating indoor air, such tactics are not necessary, but the amount of dust in the air can play havoc with machinery (many A/C units) that is not protected from the grit. Cars without air filters in their A/C systems can admit the stuff - you feel the dirt in your hands, in your eyes, your nose and your mouth.
Last summer, one of these on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson caused domino-like wrecks on the highway, involving many cars whose drivers could not see even inches in front of their vehicles.
I don't know why these events have resurged in the last year, but they are truly impressive. I thought this photo might give you some idea of the scale of the last ones, which made the national news when they occurred.
John
That's crazy.
