Dust Storm — South Central Pinal County, Arizona

2013-10-29 · South Central Pinal County, Arizona

Event narrative

Antecedent dry conditions along with gusty winds of about 20 to 25 mph produced localized dense blowing dust that reduced visibility to near zero in parts of Pinal County. This localized blowing dust resulted in a multiple vehicle chain-reaction accident along Interstate 10 near Picacho at mile marker 214. The accident involved 19 vehicles and resulted in 3 fatalities and 12 injuries. The interstate was closed to traffic in both directions until around 10 pm MST.

Wider weather episode

A trough of low pressure was located over central Nevada with a strong pressure gradient over Arizona. Strong southwest winds occurred ahead of the extremely dry cold front and produced areas of blowing dust. Visibilities near zero contributed to a fatal multi-vehicle accident in Pinal County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 479305. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.