Dust Storm — Riverside County Eastern Deserts, California

2014-07-06 · Riverside County Eastern Deserts, California

Event narrative

Thunderstorms across southwest Arizona generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph during the late afternoon hours on July 6th. The easterly outflow winds spread into eastern Riverside county during the evening hours, and picked up significant dust and sand, creating dust storm conditions. A trained spotter at the Blythe airport reported visibility to near zero miles at 1716MST, and similar conditions were expected to affect the Interstate 10 corridor from Blythe westward to Eagle Mountain. As a result a Dust Storm Warning was issued for eastern Riverside county from 1730MST through 1900MST.

Wider weather episode

Late afternoon and evening thunderstorms generated strong gusty outflow winds which moved into the deserts of eastern Riverside county and created dust storm conditions. Gusty east winds in excess of 40 mph were sufficient to drop visibilities to one quarter mile or below in dense blowing dust and sand, creating very hazardous driving conditions along the Interstate 10 corridor from Blythe westward to Eagle Mountain.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 525782. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.