Dust Storm — West Central Deserts, Arizona

2016-08-15 · West Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Isolated thunderstorms developed across portions of La Paz county during the early afternoon on August 15th and due to limited moisture and very hot temperatures, they generated gusty outflow winds reaching as least as high as 40 mph. The gusty winds created dense blowing dust which lowered visibility to near zero across the Interstate 10 corridor near the town of Quartzsite. According to a news release from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the dust storm led to 5 separate crashes that involved a total of 14 vehicles. The crashes resulted in the fatality of a 78 year old woman who lived in Litchfield Park. The crashes also resulted in the closure of the interstate; it remained closed through 1900MST. The news release indicated that there were 3 non-injury crashes involving 8 vehicles, one injury collision involving 3 vehicles and a fatal collision involving 3 vehicles. The fatal collision occurred at 1434MST, eastbound along I-10 near milepost 44. It involved 2 commercial tractor-trailer rigs and a passenger vehicle. The passenger vehicle, a Subaru Outback, was crushed between the two tractor-trailer rigs. The driver, a 78 year old woman, died on scene. All of the crashes occurred between 1434MST and 1646MST.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across portions of La Paz county during the middle of the afternoon on August 15th; due to limited moisture and very hot temperatures the storms generated strong and gusty outflow winds as high as 40 mph. The gusty winds stirred up significant amounts of dust and dirt, creating dust storm conditions that affected the Interstate 10 corridor near the town of Quartzsite. Near zero visibility created by the dust storm led to multiple vehicle crashes which caused Interstate 10 to be closed through 1900MST. Most of the accidents were of the non-injury variety however one of the crashes resulted in a fatality. A total of 14 vehicles were involved in crashes due to the dust storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 643399. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.