A haboob is a type of intense dust storm characteristic of very dry regions. They are most commonly observed in the Sahara desert and in the dry regions of the United States Southwest, such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Satellite photo of a Saharan dust cloud (2000) over the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. ... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... Official language(s) None. ... Official language(s) None, English, Spanish(de facto) Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 550 km 595 km 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 6th 295,254 km² 500 km 645 km 0. ...

Haboobs are associated with outflows from severe thunderstorms. Dust clouds associated with haboobs typically rise thousands of feet into the air and are capable of reducing visibility to zero. Eye and respiratory system protection are advisable for anyone who must be outside during a haboob - moving to a place of shelter is highly desirable during a strong event. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Since haboobs involve both dust and thunderstorms, occasionally conditions result which cause them to merge. The resulting rain can have considerable quantities of dust within it. Severe cases have been called mud storms by observers.

The root of the word haboob is from the Arabic words for phenomena and wind. The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. ... The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ... Wind is the roughly horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ...