Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2016-07-19 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

During the evening hours, dense blowing dust spread northward out of the central deserts and into the southern and southeast portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Visibilities were reported to be one quarter mile or less and the associated dust storm created hazardous driving conditions during the tail end of the evening rush hour. At 1915MST a trained spotter 5 miles southeast of the Ahwatukee Foothills reported a wall of dust moving to the north with visibilities below one quarter of a mile. Later, at 1946MST a member of the public located 5 miles south of central Phoenix reported the same dust storm reducing visibility below one quarter mile. A Dust Storm Warning was issued at 1922MST and remained in effect through 2024MST. No accidents or injuries were reported due to the dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across the higher terrain of eastern and southeastern Arizona during the late afternoon hours on July 19th and some of the stronger ones produced gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds picked up significant amounts of dust and dirt and generated dense blowing dust which lowered visibilities to below one quarter mile across portions of the central deserts. Dust storm conditions initially affected the area around Casa Grande, including the Interstate 10 corridor; later the dense blowing dust spread north into portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Fortunately, no accidents or injuries were reported due to the sharply reduced visibilities. Multiple Dust Storm Warnings were issued for the event, and the dense blowing dust created hazardous driving conditions during the evening rush hour.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 643098. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.