Dust Storm — Gila River Valley, Arizona

2023-09-01 · Gila River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Video showed near zero Visibility along I-8 in the Tacna/Roll area due to blowing dust from thunderstorm outflow winds. No accidents or injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

A deep southerly fetch of rich moisture up from the Gulf of California led to scattered to widespread heavy rainfall in portions of Southwest Arizona during the afternoon of the 1st. Moisture values were well above normal for the time of year with precipitable water values analyzed around 2.0-2.2 inches. Favorable dynamic and orographic forcing helped lead to strong updrafts and training of storms over certain terrain areas. Radar estimated rain rates were up to around 2-3 inches per hour with locally higher rates over shorter periods. These high rain rates led to areas of high rainfall accumulation, with some areas of more than 1 inch of rain and isolated areas up to 2.5-3.5 inches, radar estimated. Highest measured rainfall were between 1.5-2.0 inches. This resulted in multiple reports of flash flooding in the region, including flooding of the Gila River in Yuma County. On top of the flooding, the heavy mass loading, strong updrafts, and strong cold pools resulted in strong to severe outflow winds emanating out from the showers and storms. , which led to a few severe wind reports and generated dust storm conditions in some areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1141280. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.