USA: Massive dust storm hits Arizona

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USA: Massive dust storm hits Arizona

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A giant dust storm descended on Phoenix region of US state Arizona.

06 July,2011 02:46 pm

A massive dust storm invaded portions of Arizona on Tuesday (July 5) limiting visibility and closing Arizonas largest airport.Large sandstorms, also called a haboobs, are fairly common in Arizona from May through September due to the high heat and low moisture in the dessert areas. Todays storm, however, was larger than most. Tuesdays storm had sustained winds nearing 70 miles per hour (112 kilometers per hour) and stretched for more than 30 miles (48 kilometers).The blinding dust storm temporarily closed the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and motorists driving on interstates were forced to pull over due to extremely poor visibility.