What is the huge wall of sand that landed on the American city of Phoenix?

Unusually unsettled weather typical of the southwest US monsoon set in early this week, causing numerous sandstorms.

Particularly unstable weather, typical of the southwestern United States monsoon, set in early this week, causing numerous sandstorms. On Monday, a giant wall of sand, called a "haboob," driven by the winds of a thunderstorm, hit the city of Phoenix, in the US state of Arizona, plunging it into complete darkness in just a few seconds.

A city paralysed

The consequences? For an hour, vehicles were immobilised on the highway, and traffic had to be halted at the airport. In addition, winds of up to 112km/h caused significant damage in the city.

A few days before this impressive spectacle, Nevada, and more specifically the Burning Man festival, experienced a similar episode. The sandstorm covered campers and festival-goers, while tents disappeared under the wind.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source : Futura-sciences - Illustration : ©Unsplash)