Dust Storm — Cochise County, Arizona

2009-08-02 · Cochise County, Arizona

Event narrative

Law enforcement reported visibility less than 1/2 mile due to blowing dust at San Simon. Visibility of 1/4 mile in blowing dust was observed on the Arizona Department of Transportation webcam along Interstate 10 near Bowie. The peak gust at the webcam site was 46 mph.

Wider weather episode

High pressure aloft shifted to northern New Mexico, provided light easterly flow to southeast Arizona. Thunderstorms that formed on the White Mountains and near the Mogollon Rim slowly moved southwest. With an unseasonably dry boundary layer, storms struggled to maintain themselves. As the thunderstorms collapsed, their outflow generated widespread areas of blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 176641. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.