Dust Storm — Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

2014-07-25 · Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across the central deserts during the late afternoon hours and generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds caused dust storm conditions, which spread to the west and across portions of southwest Maricopa county, mainly areas southwest of the greater Phoenix area. At 1747MST a trained weather spotter 2 miles southwest of Gila Bend indicated that a dust storm was approaching rapidly and that visibility had dropped to one quarter of a mile in dense blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area from 1749MST until 1900MST. Even though the low visibilities caused hazardous driving conditions during the evening rush hour, no accidents or injuries were reported due to the dust storm.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across the central deserts during the late afternoon hours on July 25th, and due to favorable atmospheric conditions, they were able to generate strong and gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The outflow winds spread across much of the central deserts, including the greater Phoenix area, and generated dust storm conditions. A number of weather spotters reported visibilities at or below one quarter mile in dense blowing dust, and Dust Storm Warnings as well as Blowing Dust Advisories were issued. No injuries were reported due to the dense blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 526179. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.