A wall of sand falls on Phoenix
It is a real wall of sand, which surprised the residents of Phoenix on Tuesday! An exceptional dust storm hit the capital city of Arizona in the southern United States, plunging the city into darkness late Tuesday. The impressive cloud of about and 100 kilometers wide and 2 to 3 kilometers high, was pushed by winds blowing at 96 km / h, before passing the city at night.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that "a very significant, historic sandstorm" is moving towards this area. According to the NWS, the real wall of sand originated from a thunderstorm that had previously occurred in the Tucson area. No casualties or damage to homes or economic infrastructure were to be deplored at first, apart from falling electric poles and the interruption of air traffic for about an hour.
The phenomenon is neither deadly nor devastating. The inhabitants only have to take care to protect themselves effectively the face of the sand.
Photos and videos on several local news sites showed an impressive mass of dust drifting over the city, located in the heart of a desert area.
The United States is experiencing rare storms this year, the tornado season was the deadliest in 60 years, flooding has occurred along the Mississippi and the south is experiencing severe drought.
http://www.liberation.fr/terre/01012347 ... ur-phoenix
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yhL5do_Wg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSsbEGrBjso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PfEqR2B8UQ