Dust Storm — Gila River Valley, Arizona

2020-08-17 · Gila River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

A trained spotter and other members of public reported visibility fell to around 100 feet near Dateland from a dust storm that was moving west through Yuma county. The dust storm resulted from a long lasting outflow that originated east of Phoenix and was reinforced by additional storms through the evening. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

Isolated severe storms developed over the high terrain east of Phoenix in the afternoon and progressed westward through Maricopa, Pinal, and parts of Yuma county through the evening. The storms produced damaging outflow winds as they progressed through southeast Phoenix which also led to the development of a dust storm south of Phoenix in dust prone areas. The outflow and dust pushed into Yuma county later in the evening before diffusing.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 913878. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.