Residents in the El Paso, Texas, area are being told to brace for a possible haboob this weekend, with the dust-storm threat most likely Friday and Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service in El Paso said the setup could send strong wind gusts and blowing dust across the region, cutting visibility fast.
The reason is a weather pattern that is doing two things at once. High pressure over the southwest, moisture in the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere, and hot, dry ground can combine to produce the kind of outflow that turns a thunderstorm into a wall of dust. A haboob is that wall: a dust storm kicked up when cold air from a thunderstorm rushes outward and lifts dirt into the air at the surface.
For people in southwest New Mexico and El Paso, that means the main concern is not just whether a storm forms, but how quickly it can change road conditions. Periods of reduced visibility are possible on Friday and Saturday afternoon, and in a region where dust can arrive in a rush, that can be enough to slow travel or make driving hazardous even before rain starts. One recent example of the same kind of weather was covered in Montana: une haboob géante frappe près de Havre avec des vents à plus de 80 mph.
There is still a catch. The forecast points to conditions that are ripe for a haboob, but it does not promise one will definitely form. By Sunday, the center of the dome is expected to drift over the northern plains, and the dust-storm threat is expected to give way to a greater likelihood of thunderstorms instead. That shift matters because it changes the problem from blowing dust to storm rain and lightning, even as the weather remains unsettled.
Cooler temperatures and cloudiness are expected to take over into Tuesday, giving the weekend threat a relatively short window. After Tuesday, high pressure is expected to expand again and bring drier air back into the region. For now, the answer for El Paso and southwest New Mexico is straightforward: the haboob is possible, Friday and Saturday are the key days, and by Sunday the bigger concern should already be changing shape.
