Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2012-06-27 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorms developed over southeastern Arizona during the afternoon hours on June 27th. Gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph spread to the northwest across portions of northern Pinal county and generated dust storm conditions. At 626 pm, a trained spotter in Coolidge reported visibility below 1/4 mile in dense blowing dust. Another spotter in the San Tan Valley, near Combs & Schnepf Farms roads, reported a dust storm at 7 pm. The spotter estimated gusts to 45 mph which lowered visibility to 1/4 mile in blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Strong thunderstorms developed across southeastern Arizona during the afternoon hours on June 27th. The storms produced gusty outflow winds which spread to the northwest and generated dense blowing dust across portions of the central deserts, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Dust storms were reported by a number of trained weather spotters, as visibilities dropped below one quarter of a mile. In addition to the dense blowing dust, damaging microburst winds were also reported in the community of Toltec, in northern Pinal county.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 384280. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.