Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2017-07-09 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Strong thunderstorms developed in the Tucson area during the late afternoon on July 9th and they produced gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph which spread northward and into the central deserts during the evening hours. The gusty winds resulted in dust storm conditions in the Casa Grande area and a Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area at 1854MST. The warning remained in effect through 2000MST. At 1912MST, the AWOS weather station at the Casa Grande Municipal Airport measured visibility at 1/8 of a mile due to dense blowing dust. Additionally, at 1914MST a trained spotter 7 miles north of Casa Grande reported a dust storm with visibility down to 1/4 of a mile in blowing dust. Fortunately, no accidents or injuries were reported due to the severely restricted visibilities.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms developed in the area around Tucson during the afternoon hours on July 9th and the storms generated strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The winds moved to the north and spread over the central deserts, resulting in areas of dense blowing dust; one of the communities that was most affected by the dense blowing dust was Casa Grande. Dust storm conditions were reported at the Casa Grande Municipal Airport as visibilities lowered to one eighth of a mile shortly after 1900MST. No injuries or accidents were reported as a result of the dust storm despite the very hazardous driving conditions that were produced by the sharply restricted visibilities.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 708269. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.