Catherine de Lange, contributor It took just 2 hours for this
giant dust storm to cover the city of Phoenix, Arizona, last
Tuesday. The huge wall of dust affected the entire metropolitan
area - home to more than 4 million people - depositing thick
layers of dust and reducing visibility to zero in many areas.
Photographer Mike Olbinski captured the once-in-a-lifetime
storm's progress in this time-lapse film. "I've lived in Phoenix
for 35 years and seen tons of dust storms. This was something
else entirely," he says. Local meteorologists agree. While dust
storms are common in the Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix is
situated, this one reached extraordinary proportions. According
to Phoenix's National Weather Forecast Office, the cloud reached
a maximum height of 1500 to 1800 metres, with its leading edge
spanning 160 kilometres and spilling forwards at 64 kilometres
per hour. The dust cloud was triggered by thunderstorms on
nearby high ground, which blew fast-travelling gusts of wind
towards Phoenix. These gusts, a