Dust Storm — Central La Paz, Arizona

2022-08-23 · Central La Paz, Arizona

Event narrative

Arizona Department of Transportation reported a crash along I-10 near Milepost 69, that was suspected to be attributed to blowing dust from thunderstorm outflow with visibilities falling less than 1/4 mile. A few storm chasers were also nearby on I-10, one with a photo of vehicles stopped in near zero visibility, one with a video showing dust first crossing I-10 near Milepost 67 and quickly falling to near zero visibility, and another stopped along I-10 near Milepost 77 in near zero visibilities. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

A mid-level high pressure was situated across southern Nevada, with the local area under an northeasterly flow regime. At upper-levels, a disturbance moving northward out northern Baja California resulted in a diffluent flow, favorable for vertical ascent. The moisture and instability parameters were conducive to thunderstorm activity with PWATs 1.5+ inches and MLCAPE values ranging between 1500-2500 J/KG. As it is typical in a northeasterly flow regime, thunderstorms first began to develop along the Mogollon Rim early afternoon and then descended into the lower elevations during the mid to late afternoon hours, affecting the Greater Phoenix area and then tracking southwestward, affecting southwestern Arizona through the early evening hours.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1053976. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.