Dust Storm — San Diego County Deserts, California

2021-08-10 to 2021-08-11 · San Diego County Deserts, California

Event narrative

A dust storm (haboob) moved across the San Diego Deserts from east to west and originated in the Imperial Valley and southeast California ahead of organized thunderstorms. Visibility went to 1/2 mile in the deserts before heavy rain occurred.

Wider weather episode

A mesoscale convective system (organized thunderstorms) producing a dust storm (haboob) in the Imperial Valley, Salton Sea and Borrego deserts on the evening of August 10th. Visibility was reported as low as 1/2 mile to 1 mile observed. This was followed by hours of lightning and heavy rain in the deserts, mountains and even reaching the coast at the city of San Diego. The system brought wind gusts 40 to 50 mph, heavy rainfall up to 2 inches in the San Diego mountains and desert slopes, and copious amounts of lightning with parts of the desert with localized flash flooding. The southern coastal San Diego County received near one quarter of an inch.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 983705. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.