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

2013-09-07 · Imperial County Except the Lower Colorado River Valley, California

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across northwest Mexico during the afternoon hours on September 7th and they generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 60 mph. The strong outflow winds then spread to the north and into communities such as Calexico and Heber. The winds picked up considerable amounts of dust and sand and created dust storm conditions with visibilities at or below 1/4 of a mile. A Dust Storm Warning was issued for southwest Imperial county, including the community of Heber, beginning at 1628PST and continuing through 1800PST. At 1645 PST, a trained weather spotter 1 mile west of Heber reported less than 1/4 mile visibility in a dust storm. Fortunately, no accidents or injuries were reported due to the dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across portions of Imperial county, affecting locations from Calexico northward to the Salton Sea. Due to the very moist and unstable nature of the atmosphere, the storms produced a variety of weather including strong and damaging outflow winds, dense blowing dust and heavy rain. The heavy rain led to flash flooding near the intersection of Highway 86 and Highway 78 to the southwest of the Salton Sea. A variety of weather products were issued during the afternoon hours, including Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 471437. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.