Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2017-07-18 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Scattered thunderstorms developed over portions of the central deserts, and they produced gusty outflow winds which reached as high as 40 mph. The gusty winds produced areas of dense blowing dust near the town of Ak-Chin in western Pinal County. According to a public report, at 1815MST visibility was lowered to one quarter of a mile in a dust storm 2 miles southeast of Ak-Chin Village. A Dust Storm Warning was not issued. Instead, a Blowing Dust Advisory was issued and it was in effect from 1826MST through 2100MST.

Wider weather episode

Scattered monsoon thunderstorms developed across much of south-central Arizona during the afternoon and evening hours on July 18th and they affected portions of the greater Phoenix area as well as areas around the community of Wickenburg. The storms brought many of the typical summer weather hazards; trees were downed by strong winds near the town of Goodyear, widespread flooding was reported in the early evening in Wickenburg and dense blowing dust was reported near the Ak-Chin Village at 1815MST. At 1835MST a trained spotter measured 1.75 inches of rain within one hour near Wickenburg, sufficient to cause significant flash flooding. No injuries were reported due to the hazardous weather.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 708632. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.