Dust Storm — Northwest Pinal County, Arizona

2023-08-31 · Northwest Pinal County, Arizona

Event narrative

Visibility less than 1/4 mile reported along Bowlin Road in Maricopa from dense blowing dust due to thunderstorm outflow winds. No accidents or injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

The overall pattern featured an upper-level low pressure situated along the west coast and the subtropical high pressure centered over New Mexico. This overall pattern configuration resulted in southerly flow across Arizona, which helped transport moisture into the region. Thus, the environment became conducive for thunderstorm activity as PWATs rose to 1.3-1.5 and MLCAPE values ranged between 1000-2000 J/kg across most of central and southern AZ. DCAPE values were very high, on the order of 2000 J/kg, which resulted in a very favorable setup for strong to severe winds. Thunderstorms first developed over southeast Arizona and then, with the southerly flow, were steered into south-central AZ. There were widespread reports of dense blowing dust with visibilities reduced to 1/4 mile or less as well as wind damage as winds were in excess of 60 mph. In addition, a training thunderstorm over northern Maricopa County, in the Anthem area, resulted in 2-4 of rain according to doppler radar estimates and led to significant flash flooding.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1131781. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.