Dust Storm — Gila River Valley, Arizona

2023-08-20 · Gila River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Visibility dropped down to as low as 100 feet at times along I-8 near Tacna due to blowing dust. No accidents or injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

While the heaviest rainfall and flash flooding remained to the west across southern California, Tropical Storm Hilary did bring very strong winds to parts of southwest Arizona, which also led to areas of dense blowing dust. Hilary brought strong low level winds upwards of 50-60 knots at 850 mb and 925 mb, which mixed to the surface at times. As a result, very strong winds at the surface led to instances of damage along with low visibility due to blowing dust across Yuma County. No injuries were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1132513. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.