Stunning Video of The Dust Storm that Moved Through Phoenix on Wednesday

I can't imagine living back in the early 19th century when dust storms were prevalent.  Imagine waking up one morning, tending to your crops, or farm animals, when, not too far in the distance, you notice a huge brownish-black cloud heading towards you. These weren't just ordinary clouds, they were huge storms of wind, dust, and depending how powerful they were, other elements of nature that were carried with them too.  

Dust storms like the one that occurred in Phoenix, Arizona two days ago, were common in the western days; Especially in the mid-west, down from Texas up to the Dakotas.  While almost everyone calls them sandstorms; here in the states we tend to call them dust storms.  Unbeknownst to you, they still occur in "arid regions throughout the world," known as haboobs.

Courtesy: http://www.mikeolbinski.com/ and http://www.krazywake.com/

These amazing pictures were shot by two photographers - Mike Olbinski and Blaine Coury - in Arizona. These time-lapse videos show a wall of dust moving through the city of Phoenix in Arizona. Sandstorms like this happen during the region's monsoon season, which is underway. They occur over desert land and can reach thousands of feet into the air, spurred by strong winds. The dense cloud dramatically reduced visibility, grounding flights at a major airport and leaving thousands without electricity. p.s. A haboob is a type of intense sandstorm commonly observed in arid regions throughout the world.