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Chapter 3
What Are Moonsoons And What Is
Monsoon Season?
What are these things I hear about called Moonsoons? The
term “monsoon” comes from the Arabic word “mausim”
meaning “season” or “wind shift.” The monsoon season
is from June 15th to Sept 30 according to the National
Weather Service. Monsoon storms seem like they always hit
around 5 or 6PM, right at rush hour. Here’s how a typical
monsoon storm unfolds according to someone who’s been
through a lot of them.
Chapter 2 1. You will see dark skies off in the horizon
Why Do They Call It “The Valley?” 2. As the storm gets closer, the winds pick up
The majority of Phoenix is actually flat. It lies in a huge 3. Once the winds pick up, sometimes a “haboob” will
valley surrounded by the White Tanks to the west, South form which is a wall of dust miles high.
Mountain to the south, the Superstitions to the east, and
3 Peaks to the north. Elevation is at a premium. Most 4. Once the storm is on you, you will typically see either
of the neighborhoods that are on some sort of elevation flying dust or it will begin to rain heavily. Remember the
overlooking the city are in Scottsdale, Moon Valley and wind is still strong.
Paradise Valley with a few more exceptions. But the vast
majority of the Phoenix area rests in a flat valley. Hence 5. If the wind is really strong in a particular storm, trees
the term “The Valley.” So you might here “The West can fall over, roofs get damaged, power lines some-
Valley” or “The East Valley. Where these stop and end are times fall over. It’s not enough to flatten a house, but it is
all relative to where you live! enough to cause damage sometimes.
Typically a monsoon storm will only last 30 minutes or
less. They come and they go. Once it’s gone, just wait a
day or two and there will be another one!
What is a “Haboob”- The word Haboob has gained
popularity in the past 10 or 15 years. It is an Arabic
word literally meaning “ blowing dust.” A haboob is
basically a dust storm. But not just any dust storm. Just
Google “haboob in Phoenix” and you will seen
impressive pictures of a wall of dust miles high moving
across the valley. They are really quite ominous. Typically
a haboob will move across the valley from east to west.
You will see a wall of dust miles high. The dust itself
typically won’t cause much damage besides making a
mess of your car. Sometimes you get high winds
associated with these storms and will see some wind
damage like fallen trees. Typically haboobs are more of
a nuisance. 
