Name: Dust Storm in Arizona, August 5, 2002
Start: 2002-08-05T18:40
End: 2002-08-05T18:40
Location: Arizona

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 3:50 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 3:50 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-060545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
350 PM MST MON AUG 5 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
A MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE ARIZONA PORTION OF
THE FORECAST REGION THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...WITH A CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH ABOUT WEDNESDAY.
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA WILL STAY PRECIPITATION-FEE DURING THIS TIME.
AFTER MIDWEEK...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO SHIFT TO THE WEST OF
ARIZONA...PROVIDING FOR A DRIER NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. THIS WILL
CUT OFF THE CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION BY FRIDAY. IT
WILL ALSO BEGIN TO TURN WARMER TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
TSTMS FIRING OVER THE AREA WE WERE EXPECTING...MAINLY E OF THE OLD
MONSOON CLOUD MASS WHERE BEST INSOLATION HAS BEEN OCCURING. AMS VERY
MOIST AND UNSTABLE ACROSS THIS AREA...AND SOME DYNAMICS ALSO IN PLAY
FROM THE NRN MEX INVERTED TROF. GOOD STEERING FLOW FROM THE SE WILL
HELP TO PUSH ACTIVITY FROM SE AZ OUR WAY...AND GOOD BET WE WILL SEE
SOME SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTING OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THIS EVENING. HAVE
KEPT RELATIVELY HIGH GRADE POPS IN PLACE THIS EVENING...WITH
NUMEROUS COVERAGE CONTINUED OVER SRN GILA COUNTY ZONE. HAVE ISSUED A
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR BASICALLY MARICOPA COUNTY EWD FOR
THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WIND AND SMALL HAIL. OTHERWISE...A
STRAY STORM OR TWO IS ALSO POPPING UP IN ZONE 26...SO HAVE INCLUDED
A SLIGHT CHANCE THIS ZONE AS WELL THIS EVENING. BY TOMORROW...NOT
MUCH CHANGE IS EXPECTED IN THE MOISTURE PROFILES...EXCEPT FOR SOME
DRYING OUT IN FAR WRN AZ. MAY NOT HAVE AS MUCH DYNAMICS IN PLAY...
BUT STILL SUFFICIENT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY FOR CHANCE POPS S-CENTRAL
PORTIONS. MEANWHILE...STILL EXPECTING A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN THE
SYNOPTIC PATTERN AFTER MIDWEEK AS PAC NW TROUGH PUSHES INTO NRN
ROCKY/PLAINS STATES. THIS WILL LEAD TO A REPOSITIONING OF THE UPPER
RIDGE TO A LOCATION TO THE WEST OF AZ BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND A
DRIER NWLY FLOW. AFTER THURSDAY WILL NOT MENTION TSTMS ANYWHERE IN
CWFA...WITH THIS DRIER AMS EXPECTED TO LINGER WELL INTO NEXT WEEK.
WILL ALSO TURN WARMER AS AMS DRIES AND SUBSIDENCE FROM PROXIMITY OF
UPPER HIGH WILL BEGIN TO TAKE OVER.    ESTLE

.PSR...NONE.

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Nw Pinal

When: August 5, 6:40 PM MST
Where: Nw Pinal forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Dense blowing dust moved across the area during the evening. Visibility at times was reported to be less than a quarter mile.

What these are

Dust Storm: Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, August 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5312643.