After a very slow start to this year’s monsoon season, metro Phoenix has finally seen some storms this week — including a big one on Tuesday night. But was it a haboob? Or a monsoon? A dust storm? And what does it all mean for this very dry summer?

Thousands were left without power after a gigantic wall of dust and a monsoon slammed through Phoenix, causing damage and flight delays. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, a haboob, a huge dust storm caused by strong winds from a thunderstorm,

Olbinski and other storm chasers have been frustrated by an uneventful monsoon, but the Aug. 25 storm looked like it was different. At every stop, Olbinski set up his cameras and shot photos until the storm got too close.