Dust Storm — Gila River Valley, Arizona

2020-08-16 · Gila River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

A very strong thunderstorm near the Maricopa county and Yuma county borders produced a dust storm that traveled west along Interstate-8 in the early nighttime hours. Truck drivers in the area of Dateland reported visibility fell to less than 1/4 mile and driving conditions were treacherous between Dateland and Gila Bend due to the lowered visibility. A dust storm warning was in effect from 2030 to 2130 MST. Winds in the area were estimated around 40-50 mph. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

Monsoon thunderstorms developed across portions of the south central Arizona deserts during the evening hours on August 16th. Some of the stronger storms generated very strong and gusty outflow winds that approached 80 mph in strength at times. At about 2050MST a traveler on Interstate 8 reported significant roof, tree and car damage from a collapsing thunderstorm near the Sentinel rest area. Earlier, at about 1745MST a member of the public located 7 miles northeast of Wittmann reported about 20 trees blown down on a local golf course. The larger trees had diameters of about 12 inches, and the damage was consistent with wind gusts of at least 60 mph. There were no reports of injuries due to the strong and damaging winds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 914212. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.