Dust Storm — Lower Colorado River Valley, Arizona

2016-07-29 · Lower Colorado River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Gusty outflow winds from decaying strong thunderstorms spread west across the west central deserts and moved into the lower Colorado River valley during the late evening hours on July 29th. The winds were strong enough to stir up large amounts of dust and sand and create dust storm conditions which affected the community of Parker as midnight quickly approached. At 2356MST a trained weather spotter located 1 mile northwest of Parker reported near zero visibility in a dust storm. A Dust Storm Warning was issued earlier for the lower Colorado River valley and it expired at midnight.

Wider weather episode

During the late evening hours on July 29th, thunderstorms and their associated gusty outflow winds spread west across the west central and southwest deserts, stirring up dust and creating dust storm conditions with visibilities approaching zero miles. At the end of the day, nearing the midnight hour, dense blowing dust reached the lower Colorado River valley and resulted in a dust storm which affected areas including the community of Parker. Trained weather spotters near Parker reported near zero visibility in a dust storm shortly before midnight. A Dust Storm Warning was issued for the lower Colorado River Valley in response to the dust storm reports.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 646238. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.