Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2015-08-11 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

Scattered thunderstorms developed during the morning hours on August 11th and they generated strong and gusty outflow winds which were measured to be in excess of 50 mph at times. Due to dry ground conditions, the gusty winds were able to pick up large amounts of dust and dirt and create dust storm conditions. A variety of trained weather spotters, National Weather Service personnel and automatic weather stations reported visibilities at or below one quarter of a mile in dust storm conditions. At 0937MST a trained spotter 4 miles south of Tumbleweed Park in Chandler reported visibility below one eighth of a mile in blowing dust with winds gusting to 50 mph. At 0941MST, the AWOS weather station 4 miles east of Higley measured a wind gust to 51 mph and reported one quarter of a mile visibility in blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was issued at 0917MST and it remained in effect until 1100MST.

Wider weather episode

Scattered strong thunderstorms developed during the morning hours on August 11th over south central Arizona, and they produced gusty winds that were measured to be in excess of 50 mph at times. Due to rather dry ground conditions, the gusty winds were able to pick up substantial amounts of dust and dirt and loft it into the air, creating dust storm conditions. The dense blowing dust affected much of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area and many trained spotters reported visibilities at or below one quarter of a mile in a dust storm. The severely restricted visibilities in blowing dust created very hazardous driving conditions for motorists on the tail end of the morning rush hour.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 588992. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.