Dust Storm — West Central Deserts, Arizona

2017-03-30 · West Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong gusty winds developed across the western deserts during the afternoon and evening hours associated with a weather system approaching from the west. Wind gusts of 40 mph or greater caused widespread blowing dust which was locally very dense. At about 1920MST, two trained weather spotters in the town of Wenden reported dense blowing dust which resembled dust storm conditions. One spotter reported visibility below one half mile, and a second reported visibility below one quarter of a mile on Highway 60 in Wenden. No accidents were reported due to the dense blowing dust. No Dust Storm Warnings were issued rather a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued to cover the situation.

Wider weather episode

Strong and gusty winds developed during the afternoon and evening hours across much of southern Arizona in response to a strong weather system approaching from the west. Gusty winds over 40 mph were widespread over the deserts and resulted in the issuances of Blowing Dust Advisories as well as Dust Storm Warnings. Patchy dense blowing dust with visibilities below one quarter of a mile were observed in La Paz county. Gusty winds at least 40 mph caused a tree to be downed in the greater Phoenix area during the evening hours.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 687646. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.