Haboobs are walls of dust lofted by collapsing thunderstorm downdrafts
In arid regions, evaporating rain and cold downdrafts from dying thunderstorms slam into the ground and fan outward, lifting a towering wall of dust called a haboob that can race ahead of the storm.
Visibility can crash to near zero within minutes, choking roads and airports. Similar dust walls march across deserts from Africa to the American Southwest after monsoon bursts.
Dry air turns storms into sand engines. When the brown wall arrives, shelter beats driving — grit can strip paint and lungs alike.
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