Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2015-08-25 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of south central Arizona, including northwest Pinal county, during the late afternoon hours on August 25th. Some of the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph and these strong winds picked up large amounts of dust and dirt and created dust storm conditions with severely restricted visibilities. At 1636MST a trained spotter 2 miles west of Casa Grande reported visibility down to just one quarter of a mile in a dust storm. At the same time he measured a wind gust to 44 mph. The dense blowing dust created very hazardous driving conditions during the evening rush hour; fortunately there were no reports of significant accidents or injuries due to the dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Isolated to scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of south central Arizona during the late afternoon hours on August 25th. Some of the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds to near 50 mph, affecting northwest Pinal county as well as some of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Due to the typically dry ground conditions, the gusty winds picked up large amounts of dust and dirt, stirred them around and produced dust storm conditions; visibilities dropped to one quarter of a mile or less in the dense blowing dust. According to an amateur radio report, visibility fell to just 25 yards near Firebird Lake in south central Phoenix. Fortunately there were no reports of significant accidents or injuries due to the dust storms.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 592778. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.