Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2012-06-16 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorms developed over southeastern Arizona during the middle of the afternoon on June 16th, and they produced gusty outflow winds as high as 45 mph. The winds pushed to the northeast, picking up substantial amounts of dust and dirt and a dust storm was generated. At 435 a trained spotter in Coolidge reported visibility below one quarter mile in blowing dust. At 503 pm, another trained weather spotter in Casa Grande reported a haboob approaching from the southeast. Visibility dropped to less than 1/8 of a mile in dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Strong thunderstorms developed over southeast Arizona during the middle afternoon hours on June 16th, and they produced gusty outflow winds as high as 45 mph. The winds spread to the northwest, picking up substantial amounts of dust and dirt and generating a dust storm. The dust storm moved through northwest Pinal county, through communities such as Coolidge and Casa Grande, and then into the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the late afternoon and early evening hours.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 383767. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.