Dust Storm — Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Arizona

2023-02-14 · Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Arizona

Event narrative

Blowing dust reduced the visibility to 3 miles or less between 100 PM and 230 PM. The lowest visibility on the ASOS sensor was one mile between 100 PM and about 140 PM with wind gusts to around 60 MPH.

Wider weather episode

A strong longwave trough digging through The Great Basin brought more moisture to Arizona in addition to the remnant moisture from a weak storm that just move across the state. This allowed for precipitation to start the morning of February 14 across the favored upslope-forced areas along the southward facing terrain.

During the afternoon of 14 February, an intense band of heavy precipitation moved across northern Arizona and lasted through the night. Snowfall rates of 1-2 inch/hour were seen over the higher terrain, especially from Flagstaff to Happy Jack to Forest Lakes.

Very cold temperatures were also observed with this storm with snow levels down to around 3500 feet by the morning of 15 February.

High winds were also experienced with this storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1079963. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.