Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2016-08-03 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorms over north Scottsdale produced gusty outflow winds which generated areas of dense blowing dust during the early to mid afternoon hours on August 3rd. According to a trained weather spotter located 4 miles south of North Scottsdale, at 1435MST visibility dropped below one quarter of a mile due to the dense blowing dust. Neither a Dust Storm Warning nor a Blowing Dust Advisory were issued due to the dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across the northern portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the early afternoon hours and some of the stronger storms produced strong gusty winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds led to areas of dense blowing dust which affected the community of Scottsdale, and a trained spotter in north Scottsdale measured visibility below one quarter of a mile in dense blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was not issued for the area however. No accidents or injuries were reported due to the sharply reduced visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 647016. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.