A towering cloud of dust dramatically enveloped Mountain American Stadium in Tempe Monday, blocking out daylight on the Sun Devils’ home field, shocking footage posted on social media by the team shows.
“Must be a sign it’s game week,” the football team captioned the post ahead of their season opener Saturday.
Fast-moving storms swept across parts of Arizona Monday, grounding flights, knocking out power to thousands and causing dangerous road conditions.
The dust clouds — known as haboobs — plunged the Phoenix area into darkness, causing travel chaos as visibility plummeted to zero in a matter of minutes, according to Fox Weather.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix issued a dust storm and severe thunderstorm warning as the weather system moved in Monday evening, with officials warning drivers to “pull aside stay alive.”
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was forced to temporarily halt operations as wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour rocked the travel hub, causing damage to some buildings, CNN reported.
Dust storm in the City of Maricopa @NWSPhoenix #azwx pic.twitter.com/niNO0gpJcH
It was Arizona’s first major haboob of the year. It was sparked suddenly by seasonal monsoon storms that rolled across portions of the state, producing heavy rain and thunderstorms.
In an apocalyptic-looking scene in Maricopa, just outside of Phoenix, the dust was so thick, residents could barely see across the street, video shows.
Similar extreme weather was seen at the popular Burning Man festival in Nevada on Sunday, when a major dust storm destroyed campsites and trapped incoming Burners in up to eight hours in traffic.
Wild video posted online shows men covered in dust trying to weigh down metal poles at Black Rock City, as winds, which reached 45 miles per hour, almost blew them away.
The storms forced organizers to close the gates to attendees on Sunday night, but they had reopened by Monday morning.
The storms forced organizers to close the gates to attendees on Sunday night, but they had reopened by Monday morning.