Dust Storm — Aguila Valley, Arizona

2019-09-14 · Aguila Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Monsoon thunderstorms developed across the central deserts during the afternoon on September 14th and some of the stronger storms produced strong gusty outflow winds. The gusty winds picked up significant amounts of dust and created dust storm conditions that affected the deserts around the town of Gila Bend. According to a trained spotter located about 2 miles northeast of Gila Bend, visibility dropped to 1/8th of a mile in a dust storm at 1753MST. A Dust Storm Warning had been issued earlier, at 1700MST and was in effect at the time of the report. No accidents were reported due to the sharply reduced visibility.

Wider weather episode

Late monsoon thunderstorms developed across the central deserts during the afternoon hours on September 14th. As is typical with monsoon thunderstorms, a a few of the storms produced strong gusty outflow winds in excess of 50 mph. The gusty winds managed to stir up significant amounts of dust which led to dust storm conditions. Dust storms formed south of Phoenix, from around Gila Bend east through Ak-Chin and northeast towards Sun Lakes. Visibility lowered well below one quarter of a mile in a number of locations, falling as low as 25 feet near the town of Ak-Chin. Fortunately there were no reports of accidents or injuries as a result of the sharply reduced visibility. Two Dust Storm Warnings were issued as a result of the dense blowing dust.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 849466. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.