Dust Storm — Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

2016-07-01 · Southwest Maricopa County, Arizona

Event narrative

A line of strong thunderstorms moving eastward and across western Maricopa County generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The winds picked up significant amounts of dust an dirt and created dust storm conditions to the southwest of the greater Phoenix area. A trained weather spotter 11 miles north of Gila Bend reported zero visibility in dense blowing dust at 1900MST. A Dust Storm Warning was issued at 1917MST and remained in effect through 2100MST for southwest Maricopa County.

Wider weather episode

A weather disturbance passing eastward across south central Arizona during the afternoon and evening hours on July 1st interacted with lingering monsoon moisture and produced scattered thunderstorms. A line of strong thunderstorms moving east through southwest Maricopa County during the early evening generated gusty outflow winds and corresponding areas of dense blowing dust which resulted in dust storm conditions. Trained weather spotters north of Gila Bend reported zero visibility in dense blowing dust at 1900MST. A Dust Storm Warning was issued as a result and fortunately, no accidents or injuries resulted due to the dense blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 643096. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.