Dust Storm — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2017-09-07 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

Scattered thunderstorms developed across the greater Phoenix area during the evening hours on September 5th and some of the stronger storms produced gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The winds stirred up significant amounts of dust and created dust storm conditions which primarily affected the south and southeast portions of the Phoenix area, including the communities of Mesa, Queen Creek and Chandler. According to an NWS employee located 3 miles northeast of East Mesa, dense blowing dust reduced visibility to one eighth of a mile near the intersection of Brown and Ellesworth Roads. This occurred at 1905MST. At 1900MST a trained spotter 2 miles northwest of Chandler reported a dust storm with visibility down to one quarter of a mile at the Chandler Fashion Center Mall. Finally, at 1845MST, local broadcast media passed on a viewer report of visibility down to zero miles in dense blowing dust approximately one mile northeast of Queen Creek. A Dust Storm Warning was issued and in effect at the time of the dust storm reports; despite the very hazardous driving conditions no accidents or injuries were reported as a result of the dense blowing dust.

Wider weather episode

Scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of the south-central deserts, including the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, during the early evening hours on September 7th and some of the stronger storms generated gusty outflow winds in excess of 40 mph. The gusty winds stirred up significant amounts of dust and dirt, resulting in areas of dense blowing dust and localized dust storm conditions that affected communities from Queen Creek to Chandler to East Mesa. Visibilities ranged from one quarter mile in Chandler to about zero miles in Queen Creek, as reported by a trained spotter and broadcast media respectively. A Dust Storm Warning was issued for the area and despite the very hazardous driving conditions, no accidents or injuries were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 714579. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.