Two late-night dust storms that swept across the Phoenix area last week were among the most intense to hit the region in years, reaching the highest level on a severity scale developed by Arizona State University researchers.
Both haboobs were classified as Category 5 storms, with wind speeds of about 50 mph and high concentrations of dust. According to The Associated Press, they were only the fifth and sixth storms in the past 16 years to reach that level.
Ryan Heintzman, an assistant teaching professor in ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, helped create the Phoenix Dust Storm Scale…