Dust storms swept through central Arizona on Monday, darkening the sky, blinding drivers, knocking out power and grounding flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix issued warnings for the dust storm on Monday evening.
An hour later, it issued severe thunderstorm warnings, saying the storms “can produce gusts upwards of 60 mph.”
After the storms swept through, more than 60,000 people lost power in Arizona, according to PowerOutage.us.
The Federal Aviation Administration also announced that flights were grounded at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport before 6:30 p.m. local time due to the storms. It lifted the stop around one hour later.
Heavy rain and wind followed Monday’s dust storm, delaying more flights and causing some damage to a terminal roof.
The airport resumed operations but was experiencing delays of 15 to 30 minutes for departing flights, an airport spokesperson told the New York Times around 8:30 p.m. local time on Monday.
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Police in Gilbert, Ariz., warned residents about traffic light outages and downed trees across town.
“Please avoid travel this evening due to dangerous conditions. If you must travel, please drive with caution as we are working diligently to restore lights and clear roadways,” police added.
Phoenix has been drier than usual during the monsoon season, while parts of southeast and north-central Arizona have had a fair amount of rain, Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told The Associated Press.
“But that’s typical for a monsoon, very hit and miss,” he added.
The dust storm in Arizona follows a similar system that swept through Nevada over the weekend at Burning Man, a week-long arts festival in Black Rock City.
Strong dust storms and wind ripped through the festival in the desert area, causing major travel delays.
The National Weather Service issued a dust storm warning on Saturday, adding that a “wall of blowing dust coming off the Smoke Creek and Black Rock Desert playa areas is tracking northward at around 30 mph.”
Four minor injuries were reported as a result of the storm, a Burning Man spokesperson confirmed to NBC News.
“If you are in Black Rock City, batten down the hatches, take care of your camp, and do not drive. If you can’t see where you’re going, don’t drive. Wait for conditions to clear up,” the official Burning Man account that tracks traffic conditions into the festival wrote Saturday on X.
The storms caused the festival to temporarily shut the gates into Black Road City and festival officials warned people of travel times.
“Travel time for cars currently on Gate Road is 7 hours once Gate opens,” they wrote. “If you are in Black Rock City, secure your structures and belongings. Driving is not permitted. Do not drive.”
— With files from The Associated Press
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