Dust Storm — Central Deserts, Arizona

2017-08-27 · Central Deserts, Arizona

Event narrative

Scattered thunderstorms developed across the southeastern portions of the greater Phoenix area during the afternoon hours on August 27th and some of the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds reaching as high as 50 mph. The gusty winds produced patchy dense blowing dust that affected communities such as Queen Creek and Sun Lakes. At 1800MST a trained spotter 6 miles northeast of Queen Creek reported a dust storm with visibility below one quarter of a mile in blowing dust. A Dust Storm Warning was not in effect, instead a Blowing Dust Advisory had been issued at 1640MST and it ran through 1900MST. No accidents or injuries were reported due to the sharply restricted visibility.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of the greater Phoenix area during the late afternoon hours on August 27th and some of the stronger storms affected southeastern communities such as Queen Creek. Gusty outflow winds up to 50 mph were generated by the stronger storms; the gusty winds picked up dust and dirt and this led to patchy dust storm conditions southeast of Phoenix. A Blowing Dust Advisory was issued for portions of the central deserts including Queen Creek and Sun Lakes and at 1800MST a trained spotter 6 miles northeast of Queen Creek reported a dust storm with visibility below one quarter of a mile. No accidents were reported due to the sharply restricted visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 713613. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.