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

2013-08-24 · Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorms developed across portions of central Imperial county during the afternoon hours on August 24th, and they generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The winds were sufficiently strong to generate locally dense blowing sand and dust; at 1355PST a trained weather spotter in Seeley reported a dust storm with visibility down to zero miles in dense blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was not in effect at the time, however a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect. The Severe Thunderstorm Warning had been issued at 1352PST and continued through 1445PST.

Wider weather episode

Copious amounts of tropical moisture streamed northward into far southeastern California on August 24th, ahead of dissipating former tropical storm Ivo. The atmosphere over the lower California deserts became very moist and unstable, and scattered strong thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon hours. The storms generated copious amounts of rain, with rain rates in excess of 3 inches per hour. Flash flooding developed across portions of Imperial and eastern Riverside counties, especially in the area to the west of the Salton Sea. Some of the storms produced gusty and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph, moderate hail and dense blowing dust. Numerous Flash Flood Warnings, Small Stream Flood Advisories, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Significant Weather Advisories were issued mainly during the afternoon hours for the deserts of southeast California.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 468204. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.