Dust Storm — South Central Pinal County, Arizona

2025-09-18 · South Central Pinal County, Arizona

Event narrative

Arizona Department of Transportation's dust sensor recorded 900 yards of visibility due to blowing dust at mile marker 213 on Interstate 10 near Picacho, AZ.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms moved through the Tucson Metro area on the evening of September 18th and produced locally heavy rainfall that caused washes to flow with water. Two swift water rescues occurred along the Alamo wash due to people attempting to cross in their cars. In both cases, all of the people were rescued with no injuries. The thunderstorms produced outflow winds strong enough to loft areas of blowing dust along Interstate 10 from Picacho to Eloy and reduced visibilities to less than 0.25 miles.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295506. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.