Haboobs aren’t limited to Arizona. They occur in arid and semi-arid regions in the United States including the states of New Mexico, Texas, California and others. They also occur in other places around the world such as Africa, Australia and the Middle East. The name comes from the Arabic word, “habūb.”
Decades ago, a researcher wanted to find width of lightning bolts. He put screens above the tops of towers, statues, and other objects likely to be struck. After the lightning strikes, the sizes of the holes would indicate the diameter. My cousin asked how much of the size of the hole was due to the diameter of the lightning bolt, and how much due to the heat and blast effects.
I grew up in Arizona. Those dust storms were more common in the Phoenix area, where I grew up, before the metastatic growth that has happened in the last 50 years. We called them dust storms, not Haboobs. The Weather Channel calls them Haboobs; we called them dust storms.
Arizona dust storms were called just that — dust storms — until the Weather Service need to make weather more interesting with bomb cyclones, etc. Then they became Haboobs.
Giant mushroom columns were among the very ealiest life forms on planet Earth. Thought extinct, an underwater patch of them was recently discovered in a remote area.
pearlsbs 11 months ago
Haboobs aren’t limited to Arizona. They occur in arid and semi-arid regions in the United States including the states of New Mexico, Texas, California and others. They also occur in other places around the world such as Africa, Australia and the Middle East. The name comes from the Arabic word, “habūb.”
pearlsbs 11 months ago
Side note. Spell check wanted to change “Haboobs” to “Ha boobs.”
silberdistel 11 months ago
Today all three are quite interesting to me. :-D
tremaine53 11 months ago
That should be “lightning bolts are the width of a former human thumb”.
Pickled Pete 11 months ago
My head hurt for days, I just wanted to bury it somewhere soft and warm… I looked at her and it dawned on me, ‘ha-haboobs’. . .
ladykat 11 months ago
I did not know those facts. Learn something new every day.
poppacapsmokeblower 11 months ago
Just to be clear, it’s not the width of the lightning bolt you need to fear.
basspro 11 months ago
Big Tatas induce my growth.
Yeah, yeah-- happy hollandaise. More rubber gravy? 11 months ago
Fun Fact:
Lightning can reach temps of 50k to 70k degrees F (27.7k to 38.8k C).
… five (or more) times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Jogger2 11 months ago
Decades ago, a researcher wanted to find width of lightning bolts. He put screens above the tops of towers, statues, and other objects likely to be struck. After the lightning strikes, the sizes of the holes would indicate the diameter. My cousin asked how much of the size of the hole was due to the diameter of the lightning bolt, and how much due to the heat and blast effects.
bmeaton Premium Member 11 months ago
I grew up in Arizona. Those dust storms were more common in the Phoenix area, where I grew up, before the metastatic growth that has happened in the last 50 years. We called them dust storms, not Haboobs. The Weather Channel calls them Haboobs; we called them dust storms.
moondog42 Premium Member 11 months ago
My wife gets mad if I look at someone else’s haboobs
cactusbob333 11 months ago
Thanx to all who have given us these remarks to nipple on.
mindjob 11 months ago
Not to be confused with habobs which you can cook over a mesquite grill
Stephen Gilberg 11 months ago
Why did the meteorologist’s date walk out on him? He was too obsessed with…
1967Falcon 11 months ago
The ’shrooms grow faster because lightning scares the shiitake out of them
walter Premium Member 11 months ago
Arizona dust storms were called just that — dust storms — until the Weather Service need to make weather more interesting with bomb cyclones, etc. Then they became Haboobs.
jpozenel 11 months ago
Lightning causes nitrogen to be released in the atmosphere. That’s why everything looks so green after a thunderstorm. (The water helps a lot too.)
egadi'mnotclad 11 months ago
Giant mushroom columns were among the very ealiest life forms on planet Earth. Thought extinct, an underwater patch of them was recently discovered in a remote area.