Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2014-09-06 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed to the southeast of the greater Phoenix area during the afternoon hours on September 6th, and they generated strong and gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The winds spread to the northwest and moved across portions of northwest Pinal county, stirring up significant amounts of dust and leading to dust storm conditions. Dense blowing dust affected the communities of Coolidge and Casa Grande. At about 1715MST, a trained spotter 8 miles northwest of Casa Grande reported a dust storm with visibility less than one eighth of a mile. At the same time, another spotter near Coolidge reported visibility at one quarter mile in a dust storm. Shortly thereafter, a Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area.

Wider weather episode

Isolated strong thunderstorms developed to the southeast of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the late afternoon and evening hours on September 6th. Some of the storms generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph which spread to the northwest and into the greater Phoenix area, causing dense blowing dust and dust storm conditions. The storms also generated damaging microburst winds and locally heavy rain, affecting locations such as San Tan Valley, San Tan Mountain Park and Seville. Later in the evening new thunderstorms developed across the northern portion of the Phoenix area, causing heavy rain and flooding in communities such as Peoria and prompting the issuance of a Flash Flood Warning.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 533137. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.