Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2014-07-03 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across southern Pinal county during the afternoon hours on July 3rd, and due to favorable atmospheric conditions, they were able to generate strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. These gusty winds spread to the northwest, picking up massive amounts of dust and dirt and generating dust storm conditions which spread into the southeast portions of the greater Phoenix area by early evening. Numerous trained weather spotters across the greater Phoenix area reported dust storm conditions, and a Dust Storm Warning was issued, running from 1900MST to 2100MST. At 1952MST, a trained spotter in Tempe reported a dust storm with visibility down to one tenth of a mile at the intersection of Mill and Southern. Another trained spotter 3 miles northwest of the Arizona State Fairgrounds reported a dust storm with one quarter mile visibility, accompanied by wind gusts estimated to be nearly 50 mph.

Wider weather episode

Strong thunderstorms developed across southern Pinal county during the afternoon hours on July 3rd, and they generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The winds spread to the northwest and picked up massive amounts of dust, leading a major dust storm across the central deserts, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Visibilities dropped to near zero miles at times, and given the late afternoon and early evening time frame, severely disrupted the evening rush hour. Initially, Blowing Dust Advisories were issued, but were later upgraded to Dust Storm Warnings. No significant accidents or injuries were reported due to the dense blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 525750. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.