A dust storm forced a ground stop at Phoenix airport on Monday, damaging terminal 4′ sroof and halting the sky train.
On Monday evening, August 25 there was near-zero visibility and hurricane-force wind gusts disrupting flights and damaging airport infrastructure, leaving tens of thousands without power across the area as well.
The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm and dust storm warnings as a towering wall of dust known as a “haboob” rolled into the area. Visibility plunged as low as a few dozen feet.
Massive monsoon dust storm this afternoon at Phoenix Sky Harbor.
byu/Brilliant_Night7643 inaviation
Check out this video from Melissa Pond, who was at the airport in Phoenix tonight when the giant dust storm blew in. Her flight was delayed for three hours waiting for the air to clear. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/wi1TPdA6XQ
— Heidi Hatch KUTV (@tvheidihatch) August 26, 2025
Dust storm at PHX airport #azwx #arizona #phoenix #duststorm #haboob pic.twitter.com/CNNQ8UfSw1
— Charlie Budd (@Charlieplaneswx) August 26, 2025
Whoa… Check out these photos from Sky Harbor in Phoenix, as, sources tell us, part of the roof of Terminal 4's concourse was blown off by the heavy winds. https://t.co/M4CslWpgRU
Thanks to Janet Whalen for sharing these photos. pic.twitter.com/ozCwmGCPs4
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) August 26, 2025
#BREAKING : Dust Storm Blows Off Part of Roof at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Power Outages, Flights Cancelled
Massive haboob wreaked havoc in the US state of Arizona on Monday, as it struck Phoenix city, leaving the entire Valley without electricity.
Several flights from and… pic.twitter.com/QYqEEtYZFs
— upuknews (@upuknews1) August 26, 2025
The FAA ordered a ground stop at 5:29 p.m. local time, halting all arriving and departing flights. Flights resumed around 6:30 p.m. but delays cascaded through the evening as airlines worked through the backlog.
- Meteorologists reported gusts up to 70 mph at the airport, consistent with the outflow winds that carried the dust wall.
- Terminal 4 sustained roof damage and water leaks. Crews were seen cleaning up standing water in passenger areas.
- The PHX Sky Train was stopped, and the FAA control tower was briefly evacuated during the storm’s peak.
By late Monday night, flights were moving again with modest delays.
What are multiple dust storms called? Haboobies…
What a mess. It’s surprising that much dust/dirt doesn’t cause electronic equipment damage.
It was quite the evening and drive home for us Phoenicians. Traffic on the highways nearly stopped during rush hour as you couldn’t see the car in front of you, traffic signs and trees toppled and blowing at you on the roads and then rain, nearly an inch valley wide ( about 1/2 at the airport ). Biggest storm of this nature many are saying since 2011. Nearly 75,000 power outages mostly due to snapped poles and downed power lines. Most were back up by 10 PM and luckily the temperature dropped from 102 to 78 in just a few minutes. Humid but cool, we will take it. Thankfully no reported deaths or injuries.
Life in the desert. Oh and Maryland, our infrastructure is designed to handle dust and wind, I know I work for one of the power utilities here. Monsoon still has a month to go but likely won’t see another storm like this one for sometime.
Sunviking happy to hear you and yours are safe! Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
In the northeast USA here we call that blizzard and they last a day
@sunviking82 — Wow! That’s intense. Glad you’re alright, and hope the recovery is swift.
The images definitely give off some Mad Max vibes. “Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence.”
Also, naturally, I was thinking of Dune, as well… *insert “Lisan al-Gaib!” meme*