This is one of the spookiest, most striking sky scenes I’ve witnessed outside menacing supercells. Dust and sand roared out of the Organ Mountains and Tularosa Valley region into the Las Cruces area, shoved along by severe thunderstorm outflow that readily lofted still more. Meanwhile, the lift was so intense that dust merged into and surrounded some shelfy cumulus clouds being formed by ascent, forced over both unseen higher terrain and the cold pool. Light reflecting upward off the dust colored the midlevel cloud base, itself a wild-looking feature related to storm-scale lift. At about this time, a ridge-top mesonet station 3 miles east-northeast of here, within this frame of view, measured a 92-mph gust in the dust. [This was the second time in two years I have been storm observing near a mesonet site recording a gust of that value!] The haboob, which enveloped all of Las Cruces, continued westward for over 100 miles on I-10, contributing to a westbound (with the wind) multi-vehicle wreck between Deming and Lordsburg. Just the day before, I had photographed a gorgeously colored sunset haboob in the Tucson area.
Dona Ana NM (11 Jul 21) Looking ENE
32.3914, -106.8095