First Alert Chief Meteorologist Haley Clawson explains how a haboob forms
The cleanup from Thursday night's haboob continues into Friday.
"The dust storm we experienced is because of a thunderstorm," explains Chief Meteorologist Haley Clawson. "Those thunderstorms were in Imperial County. As they traveled towards the west, they were picking up sand and dust."
"If the thunderstorm is strong enough and you can have a strong enough outflow: that's the air that comes out of the thunderstorm from the cloud down to the ground. It hits the ground and then it fans out."
Because we live in a desert, what's on our ground is sand and dust. It's a very dry, arid environment. That's why dust storms are so common in the desert southwest.
MORE: Haboob leaves hazardous air quality in its wake
When that wind hits the surface, it begins to move out parallel to the surface. Along the way, it picks up sand and dust. The sediment and wind combine to make a wall of dust.
The haboob is a dust storm that formed from the outflow of thunderstorms.
"That wall of dust just continued to expand and of course," Haley explained, "right around the Salton Sea. There's a lack of elevation. There's nothing to block it and it moved right into the Coachella Valley."
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Troubled Waters: The Salton Sea Project
Air quality around the Coachella Valley still reporting as 'hazardous' with sediment lingering in the air. pic.twitter.com/7phFtNOyxw
— Haley Clawson KESQ (@KESQHaley) October 7, 2022
A radar loop shows how the storms worked their way from east to west across Imperial County. The storms triggered Dust Warnings for Imperial County for San Diego County.
The Coachella Valley was under a Blowing Dust Advisory. That is not included in the EAS system. Imperial County was under a Dust Storm Warning, which did prompt an alert for residents there.
Here's a link to view other alerts that would trigger an EAS alert: https://www.weather.gov/nwr/eventcodes
Coachella Valley hit by Haboob yesterday.. some quick sites and sounds of going into the haboob…#weather #Indio #coachellavalley #haboob @NWS pic.twitter.com/xSRb6gGiGq
— Chris Tarpening (@Tarp1969) October 7, 2022
The First Alert Weather Team tracked the haboob as it moved through the Coachella Valley. Chief Meteorologist Haley Clawson relayed the Blowing Dust Advisory to viewers shortly after it was issued at 4:07 p.m. Thursday, and provided real-time updates throughout the evening.
Watch a behind-the-scenes look at the weather team's work in the video below.
Morning Meteorologist Patrick Evans explained on Friday that air quality is in the Hazardous range. It's recommended you limit outdoor exposure, stay indoors when possible, and wear a mask outdoors if you can.
Watch News Channel 3 live for continuing updates.
You'll stay up-to-date with the latest weather videos. In addition, be able to monitor the changing conditions from wherever you are!
