Terrifying footage has captured the moment a huge dust cloud brought by 80mph wind gusts blanketed Phoenix, Arizona, plunging tens of thousands into darkness.
Powerful storms swept into the metro on Thursday evening, as the dust cloud was coupled with torrential rainfall, strong winds and lightning in some areas.
The severe weather marks an escalation of Monsoon season for much of the Southwest after the region experienced a scorching summer under a ‘heat dome’ that broke temperature records in numerous cities.
The epicenter of Thursday’s washout was Maricopa County, the state’s most populous area, as thousands were hampered by power outages, grounded flights and travel chaos.
A huge dust cloud blanketed much of Maricopa County in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday evening as the city was battered by severe weather
Several small fires - including to a home and near a communications tower - were sparked by lightning strikes across the city
The dust cloud was brought in by a large thunderstorm system that developed at the south of the city, which swept the storm system into the city on high wind gusts, according to the FOX forecast center.
Visibility was reduced to less than a quarter of a mile in some areas, as the National Weather Service introduced storm warnings that lasted until 9:45pm Thursday while the city ground to a halt.
Up to 86,000 people were left without power at various stages overnight, with the worst hit areas Pinal, Yavapai and Maricopa Counties, according to Poweroutage.US.
The severe weather also frustrated sports fans as the Arizona State Football game was temporarily suspended while the home team led 21-7 at halftime.
Fans were ordered to seek shelter as dust blanketed the stadium and lightning was detected overhead during the showdown with Southern Utah University, with Arizona clinching a 24-21 victory at 1am after it was restarted.
The dust cloud was brought in by a large thunderstorm system that developed at the south of the city, which swept the storm system into the city on high wind gusts
The weather front caused a temporary delay to the University of Arizona's showdown with Southern Utah
Fans were ordered to find shelter as the game was temporarily suspended by the severe weather, which was later restarted and finished at 1am
Visibility was reduced to less than a quarter of a mile in some areas, as travel chaos struck Sky Harbor and Mesa-Gateway Airports with significant delays
The extreme weather front marks an escalation of monsoon season in the Soutwest, and wet and wild weather is expected to continue until Labor Day
Although the dust cloud produced the most eye-popping images of the weather front, much of the destruction was caused by the thunderstorms and high winds.
Flights were temporarily grounded out of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, and officials urged travelers to check their flights are still operating after a ground stop was introduced to the runways overnight.
The travel chaos also extended to Phoenix Mesa-Gateway Airport as a ground stop order delayed flights for several hours.
Several fires were started by lightning strikes across the city, as a pine tree went up in flames not far from where four people were displaced when their home was set alight by another strike.
Stunning footage showed firefighters racing to the home and battling the blaze, and thankfully no injuries were reported from the scene.
In the South Mountain area of the city, which was first hit by the storms as the weather front moved north, lightning strikes caused another fire by communication towers, according to AZFamily.
Much of Maricopa County was covered by the dust cloud, with the storms also causing outages across the county and nearby Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale and Avondale cities
Firefighters quickly extinguished the blazes as they covered around half an acre, and no injuries to crews or damage to the towers were reported.
The wet and wild weather is forecast to extend into the weekend, however temperatures are expected to pick up as Labor Day is set to be another sweltering day in the state.
Arizona has battled widespread outages for months due to the extreme weather, with power outages also reported in cities including Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale and Avondale.
The storms mark an escalation in an otherwise-mild Monsoon season for the Southwest, which has instead been scorched by an unprecedented 'heat dome' that has sent temperatures soaring.
Temperature records were set across numerous cities on the West Coast and South West, including in Phoenix which experienced 30 consecutive days over 110F.
The return of Monsoon season struck California last month, however, as the first tropical storm to hit the state in 84 years caused widespread flooding.
In Phoenix, the extreme weather comes as Maricopa County registered an additional 47 heat-related deaths this week, bringing the total to at least 180, according to AZCentral.