'I was nervous. My kids were really, really scared': Towering dust storm darkens skies in US

A giant dust storm approaches the Phoenix metro area as a monsoon storm pushes the dust into the air. Picture: Ross D. Franklin.

A powerful storm kicked up a towering wall of dust that rolled through parts of Arizona, darkening the sky, blinding drivers, knocking out power and grounding flights at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

Bernae Boykin Hitesman was driving her son and daughter, aged 9 and 11, home from school when the storm, known as a haboob, arrived late on Monday afternoon in Arizona City, about 60 miles south east of Phoenix.