Denver, the Apocalypse! Amazing moment: A huge dust cloud blows through Mile High City. It completely obscures the views of skyscrapers.

  •  A rapid shift from 60-degree weather to temperatures in the 40s created strong downward gusts that blew up a wall of dust that engulfed Denver on Sunday
  • A dust cloud is also known as a “haboob” and was created by winds of 46 mph. 85 mph gusts were measured in the twelve hours prior to the phenomena. 
  • This year’s drought conditions in the Eastern Plains resulted in soil drying out, which led to the formation of the fine particles released into the atmosphere.










An unusual cold front brought a duststorm to Denver, covering the entire city. 

A live stream camera from a law office captured the event around 2:20 on Sunday. FOX meteorologist Heather Brinkmann posted a photo of the bright skyline to Twitter. 

Denver International Airport recorded dusty conditions, wind speeds around 46 mph around 3pm on that day. There were gusts of 85 miles in the preceding 12 hours.

The Colorado capital was captured at great speed by the impressive dust cloud.  

Meteorologist Stacey Donaldson with Denver7 explained that a rapid temperature drop from 60 to 40 degrees within the span of about three hours. 

Video from a law firm's live-stream camera (pictured) captured the apocalyptic natural phenomenon around 2 pm on Sunday, and FOX meteorologist Heather Brinkmann took to Twitter with a snap of the ruddy skyline

A live stream camera from a law office (pictured) recorded the event around 2:20 on Sunday. FOX meteorologist Heather Brinkmann posted a photo of the reddish skyline to Twitter.

Just moments before the menacing dust cloud blows over, the Denver skyline can still be seen

You can still see the Denver skyline just seconds before the dust cloud passes.

The Denver International Airport reported the dusty conditions and wind speeds of around 46 miles per hour around 3pm on Sunday, with gusts of 85 mph recorded in the 12 hours preceding the dusting

Denver International Airport reports dusty conditions, wind speeds around 46 mph around 3:00 on Sunday and gusts up to 85 mph during the preceding 12 hours.

 The shift brought on the downward-blowing winds – because heat rises, the cold air was pushed down and kicked up the dust.

Brinkmann stated on Twitter that he actually experiences dust storms quite often. “The dust sits at mountain base until there is a wind shift or front like yesterday.  

According to meteorologists, the dust wall met the criteria for being a regionally unusual (and fun to call) “haboob.”

According to the American Meteorological Society, a haboob can be defined as an accumulation of dust at a height greater than 5,000 feet that has been caused by strong winds. This is followed by higher wind speeds and decreased visibility.  They are more typically seen in drier southwest cities like Albuquerque and Phoenix.

According to 9News., this was due to drought conditions. The soils of the eastern plains were dried this year.  

The shift brought on the downward-blowing winds - because heat rises, the cold air was pushed down and kicked up the dust.

It brought about the down-blowing winds. Because heat rises the cold air was pulled down and kicked to the ground.

Advertisement