Dust Storm — Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

2013-08-22 · Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across portions of far southwest Arizona and southeast California during the afternoon hours on August 22nd, and they generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The gusty winds produced dense blowing sand and dust across portions of Imperial county, affecting communities such as Imperial and Holtville, as well as motorists on area roads such as Interstate 8. At 1602PST a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued for Imperial county and it was upgraded to a Dust Storm Warning at 1744PST. The warning remained in effect through 1900PST. According to a trained spotter in Holtville, at 1738PST winds gusts estimated at around 50 mph produced a dust storm. Dense blowing dust and sand lowered visibility to near zero miles. At 1755PST, the official Imperial ASOS weather station reported one quarter mile visibility in blowing dust, along with a wind gust measured at 44 mph. No injuries or accidents were reported due to the dust storm.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across portions of far southwest Arizona and southeast California during the afternoon hours on August 22nd, and they produced strong and gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The winds were sufficient to generate dense blowing sand and dust, lowering visibilities to below one quarter mile across portions of Imperial county. As a result, dust storm conditions developed which led to the issuance of both Blowing Dust Advisories and Dust Storm Warnings for portions of Imperial county. No accidents or injuries were reported as a result of the dense blowing sand and dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 467844. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.