Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2015-07-31 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed over portions of south central Arizona during the early afternoon hours on July 31st, and they generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds produced locally dense blowing dust which affected the community of San Tan Valley. According to a trained weather spotter in San Tan Valley, visibility dropped to one quarter of a mile at 1417MST due to the dense blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was not issued, but a Blowing Dust Advisory was sent out at 1419MST and remained in effect until 1600MST.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across south central Arizona during the afternoon hours on July 31st, and some of them generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds produced locally dense blowing dust which affected portions of the central deserts, including the community of San Tan Valley. For the most part visibilities stayed above one half mile in the blowing dust, but there were isolated instances of visibility down around one quarter mile, as reported by trained weather spotters. Dust Storm Warnings were not issued due to the isolated nature of the dense blowing dust, but a Blowing Dust Advisory was in effect for the central deserts from 1419MST until 1600MST.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 588471. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.