Dust Storm — Southwest Deserts, Arizona

2014-07-03 · Southwest Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across southern Pinal county, and due to favorable environmental conditions, they were able to generate strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The winds spread to the west, and in the process they picked up significant amounts of dust and dirt which led to dust storm conditions. The dust storm then spread across the southwest deserts during the evening hours; a Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area from 1908MST until 2300MT. Despite a lack of trained spotter reports from the sparsely populated southwest deserts, numerous spotters across the south central deserts, including the greater Phoenix area, reported dust storm conditions with this event.

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 525754. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.