Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2013-09-06 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

Isolated afternoon thunderstorms developed across the south central deserts on September 6th, and they affected portions of the greater Phoenix area including Scottsdale. Due to the very hot and somewhat dry conditions, the thunderstorms generated gusty outflow winds of at least 45 mph. The strong wind gusts picked up copious amounts of dirt and dust and created dust storm conditions. At 1631MST a trained weather spotter 4 miles northeast of downtown Scottsdale reported visibility down to 1/4 mile at the intersection of Indian Bend Road the the Loop 101. The dust storm led to very hazardous driving conditions during the rush hour across the greater Phoenix area. At 1600MST, a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued for the south central deserts and it was upgraded to a Dust Storm Warning at 1630MST. The warning was in effect until 1900MST.

Wider weather episode

Isolated thunderstorms developed across the south central deserts during the afternoon hours on September 6th and they affected portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The atmosphere was dry in the low levels, unstable, and very hot. Afternoon high temperatures in the central deserts reached or exceeded 110 degrees in the hottest locales. The combination of those conditions allowed the thunderstorms to generate strong and damaging winds, with peak gusts in excess of 50 mph. The strong winds were sufficient to knock down trees in central Phoenix. In addition, the gusty winds picked up significant amounts of dust and created dust storm conditions. Blowing Dust Advisories and Dust Storm Warnings were both issued for the greater Phoenix area during the afternoon hours.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 471425. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.