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Old 04-15-2013, 10:59 PM
 
261 posts, read 422,259 times
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We moved here last July so this is our first spring. Is it normal to get these wind storms at this time of year?
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:12 PM
 
Location: Between amicable and ornery
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My question is what's with this dust? I never really paid attention before. Now I know why I get severe headaches on windy days. I'm staying inside until the dust settles, literally.
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:17 PM
 
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Yeah, it's pretty normal. We seem to always be on the outskirts of storms moving through further north or south and so we get some clouds and lots of wind.
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:52 PM
 
Location: Sunrise
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Happens once or twice a year. Although some years there are none. Some years we come close to getting a haboob. I've only seen a full-on haboob (lightning dust storm) once in my life. It was seriously impressive.
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Old 04-16-2013, 12:39 AM
 
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbill618 View Post
We moved here last July so this is our first spring. Is it normal to get these wind storms at this time of year?
Yes. April April weather can be like this. I remember it rained every day one April. The reason I remember that is I was directing a newscast on Ch-3, when the weatherman forgot his notes. So he ad-libbed the weather and said there was no rain in sight. It was raining when he said it, and rained every day for a month.
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Old 04-16-2013, 01:54 AM
 
Location: Studio City, CA 91604
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Las Vegas, and all of the Mojave Desert (including the big chunk of it in California) are currently experiencing drought conditions.

Wind + very little rainfall = blowing dust. Simple as that.

Welcome to the Mojave Desert!

Where did you think you were moving????

Last edited by kttam186290; 04-16-2013 at 02:30 AM..
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Old 04-16-2013, 02:31 AM
 
Location: Studio City, CA 91604
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV View Post
Happens once or twice a year. Although some years there are none. Some years we come close to getting a haboob. I've only seen a full-on haboob (lightning dust storm) once in my life. It was seriously impressive.
More common in Phoenix during monsoon season than LV.
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Old 04-16-2013, 09:22 AM
 
Location: Kingman AZ
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I take exception to the terms MONSOON and HABOOB.

monsoons occur in Asia, HABOOBS occur in the middle east......

We have summer thunderstorms and dust storms.....
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Old 04-16-2013, 10:58 AM
 
Location: North Las Vegas NV
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I was driving to the VA hospital yesterday morning and I could not even see the Spring Mountains or the Sheep Range from all the dust.
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Old 04-16-2013, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Studio City, CA 91604
3,049 posts, read 4,528,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dynimagelv View Post
I take exception to the terms MONSOON and HABOOB.

monsoons occur in Asia, HABOOBS occur in the middle east......

We have summer thunderstorms and dust storms.....
The meteorological definition of a monsoon is a seasonal and marked change in both the humidity and wind patterns. So, if you were to go strictly by the meteorological definition, then the Southwest U.S. does indeed go through a monsoonal period

A haboob is simply a phenomenon closely associated with the monsoon.

Starting in May, thuderstorms began to build over the Pacific-facing mountains in Mexico, they start to "stockpile" tropical moisture there. By June, the High pressure system that was weak over the four corners (AZ, NM, UT, CO) has grown much stronger and it begans to pull (clockwise) that stockpiled moisture out of those mountains, the Gulf of California (Baja) and off the Pacific itself. When it does this, it creates an upper, mid and low-level wind current full of moisture and drives it almost straight up from Mexico toward the U.S. That moist wind current is the actual "monsoon", not the thunderstorms themselves. The thunderstorms are just the "symptom".

Now, when the ridge of high pressure builds way out or shifts slightly to the west, that moisture current will basically drive right up the Colorado River and that's when all of you in Las Vegas have your greatest chance of seeing those awesome thunderstorms!

The monsoonal pattern usually ends with the first strong cold front coming down from the Pacific Northwest (usually in late Sept. or Oct.) which knocks the high pressure center over the four corners region out of kilter. The last of the monsoon-associated storms that come in September and October are usually the most violent because of the clash of air masses.

Recall that September of last year brought lots of flooding to Las Vegas. October of 2010 brought some very violent thunderstorms that spawned tornadoes in the Flagstaff AZ area, which is very typical of the last part of the monsoon season.

Last edited by kttam186290; 04-16-2013 at 01:08 PM..
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