Dust Storm — West Central Deserts, Arizona

2016-08-15 · West Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across portions of the west central deserts during the afternoon hours on August 15th, and the stronger storms generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds stirred up significant amounts of dust, leading to dust storm conditions that affected motorists on the Interstate 10 corridor east of Brenda. At 1455MST the Arizona Department of Transportation and a trained weather spotter reported a dust storm about 7 miles southwest of Vicksburg Junction. The dense blowing dust resulted in Interstate 10 being closed in both directions at milepost 44. Shortly afterward, a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued for the area and it remained in effect through 1600MST. No accidents were reported due to the dust storm.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across the west central deserts during the afternoon hours and the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds that reached up to 40 mph. The gusty winds stirred up dust and dirt from the desert floor and created sharply reduced visibility and dust storm conditions. The most significant blowing dust occurred over central La Paz county, along the Interstate 10 and Highway 60 corridors and resulted in the closure of Interstate 10 near milepost 44. A Dust Storm Warning was not issued, instead a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued due to the low areal coverage of the dense blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 647597. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.