Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2016-08-21 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Thunderstorms developed across portions of the central deserts during the afternoon hours on August 21st, and some of the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. As has often been the case this summer, winds of this magnitude were sufficient to cause areas of dense blowing dust which led to dust storms conditions. At 1546MST local law enforcement reported visibility down to one eighth of a mile in a dust storm near milepost 168 on Interstate 8 near Casa Grande. Shortly thereafter, at 1615MST, a trained weather spotter 5 miles northeast of Casa Grande reported a dust storm with visibility lowered to one quarter mile in dense blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area beginning at 1600MST and it remained in effect through 1800MST. No accidents were reported due to the blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed across portions of south central Arizona, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, during the afternoon hours on August 21st and some of the storms produced gusty outflow winds greater than 40 mph. As has often been the case during the summer, these outflow winds were sufficient to stir up large amounts of dust and create dust storm conditions where visibility falls below one quarter of a mile. Some of the most significant dense blowing dust occurred over the central and southeast portion of the greater Phoenix area as well as portions of northern Pinal county including Casa Grande and Coolidge and the Interstate 10 corridor. Although the dust storms created very hazardous driving conditions, no significant accidents or injuries were reported due to the sharply reduced visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 647782. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.